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BEAU     Y 


JOHN  V.  SHOEMAKER,  LL.D.,M.D. 


Professor  of  Materia  Medica,  Pharmacology,  Therapeutics,  and  Clinical 
Medicine,  and  Clinical  Professor    of  Diseases  of  the  Skin  in  the 
Medico-Chirurgical  College  of  Philadelphia  ;    Physician  to  the 
Medico-Chirurgical  Hospital ;    President  of  the  American 
Therapeutic  Society;  Member  of  the  American  Med- 
ical Association,  the  American  Academy  of  Medi- 
cine, the  British  Medical  Association ;  Fellow 
of  the  Medical  Society  of  London,  etc. 


PHILADELPHIA 

F.  A.   DAVIS  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


COPYRIGHT,  1908, 

BY 

F.  A.  DAVIS  COMPANY. 

[Registered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London,  Hug.] 


Philadelphia,  Pa.,  U.  S.  A. 

Press  of  F.  A.  Davis  Company, 

1914-16  Cherry  Street 


2  5  9  S  5 


PREFACE. 

HEALTH  and  beauty  are  closely  allied,  and  nowhere  so 
clearly  as  in  the  condition  of  the  skin.  A  pure  skin,  being 
an  important  element  of  human  beauty  as  well  as  of  health, 
should  therefore  be  a  subject  of  much  interest  to  mankind.  The 
fundamental  laws  of  health  apply  to  this  envelope  of  the  body, 
the  skin,  with  as  much  stringency  as  to  parts  that  lie  beneath  it, 
all  nourished  by  the  blood  coursing  through  every  part  of  the 
body  with  greater  or  less  efficacy  according  to  whether  or  not 
they  are  in  good  condition  from  diet,  ablution,  and  many  other 
circumstances.  The  life  of  no  organ  can  be  considered  apart 
from  other  components  of  the  body.  The  skin  is  quick  to  reflect 
disorder  of  other  portions  of  the  organism.  No  wonder  that 
this  is  so,  for,  as  Herbert  Spencer  remarks,  it  is  that  surface  by 
which  we  come  in  contact  with  the  universe!  A  large  element 
in  personal  beauty  consists  in  the  nature  and  condition  of  the 
skin.  Excellence  in  these,  associated  with  elegance  of  form  and 
sprightliness  of  action,  can  even  dispense  with  regularity  of 
features  in  the  production  of  harmonious  and  attractive  bodily 
attributes,  so  it  becomes  apparent  that,  to  some  degree,  we  all 
have  our  looks  under  command. 

In  consequence  of  this  and  other  facts,  the  author  pur- 
poses, in  successive  chapters,  to  point  out  to  the  reader  the  vari- 
ous methods  by  which  health  may  be  influenced  by  climate,  diet, 
clothing,  ventilation,  bathing,  and  exercise.  He  will  incidentally 
call  attention  to  the  deleterious  effects  of  certain  habits,  and 
include  brief  descriptions  of  diseases  that  frequently  invade  the 
skin,  not  neglecting,  in  this  connection,  mention  of  the  eruptive 
diseases  of  childhood.  The  diseases  to  which  the  hair  and  nails 
are  subject  will  here  also  receive  attention.  Finally,  the  legiti- 
mate employment  of  cosmetics  will  be  defined,  and  choice  for- 
mulae given  for  their  preparation. 


2052706 


IV  PREFACE. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  what  should  seem  to  every- 
one a  matter  of  course,  that  the  author  is  indebted  for  some 
of  his  material  to  distinguished  writers  on  the  above-mentioned 
themes,  and  to  medical  and  pharmaceutical  authorities  of  the 
highest  class.  This  work,  although  written  from  a  medical 
standpoint,  will  not  overlook,  but  will  expressly  include  aesthetic 
considerations,  which  nature  itself  presents  in  connection  with 
the  subject.  In  consequence,  some  space  in  it  will  be  found 
devoted  to  discussion  of  the  principles  of  beauty  in  various  de- 
partments of  art.  As  artists  have  seen  beauty,  they  have 
depicted  it,  and  in  so  doing,  have  aided  the  mass  of  men  in  recog- 
nizing its  principles.  As  closely  related  to  beauty,  not  in  the 
abstract,  but  in  the  concrete,  a  chapter  will  be  devoted  to  the 
influence  of  beauty  in  human  society,  illustrated,  in  the  case  of 
literature,  by  quotations  drawn  from  works  of  poetry  and  fic- 
tion recognized  by  the  whole  world  as  standard. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I.  PAGE 

THE  SKIN  AND  COMPLEXION i 

Description  of  the  physical  and  physiological  character  of  the  skin. 


CHAPTER    II. 


THE  APPENDAGES  OF  THE  SKIN, 


The  hair  and  nails.  Difference  of  the  hair  in  the  Caucasian  and  other  races. 
Description  of  the  growth  and  the  constitution  of  the  hair.  The  color  of 
the  hair  as  affected  by  climate.  Description  of  the  constitution  and 
growth  of  the  nails.  Beauty  of  the  nails  when  properly  treated. 


CHAPTER   III. 
THE  USEFULNESS  OF  THE  SKIN  AND  OF  THE  HAIR 13 

The  uses  of  the  superposed  skins  described — the  true  skin,  scarf-skin,  and 
the  skin  as  a  whole.  Their  relation  to-  atmospheric  conditions  in  main- 
taining equableness  in  the  temperature  of  the  body.  The  effect  of  moist 
heat  upon  the  bodv.  The  normal  temperature  of  the  body.  The  excre- 
tory function  of  the  skin.  Death  produced  by  its  artificial  stoppage. 
Perspiration.  The  oily  matter  of  the  skin,  known  as  sebum.  Respiration 
by  means  of  the  skin.  Its  tactile  sensibility.  Highly  developed  tactile 
sensibility  in  the  blind  and  among  persons  following  certain  occupations. 
Insensibility  and  perversions  of  the  sense  of  touch.  Appreciation  by  the 
skin  of  various  degrees  of  temperature.  Difference  in  susceptibility  to 
pain  among  different  races  and  in  different  conditions  among  mankind. 
Occurrence  among  the  insane  of  insensitiveness  of  skin.  The  influence 
of  mind  upon  perception  of  physical  injury.  Excessive  itching  indicative 
of  functional  derangement  of  the  nervous  system.  Electric  currents 
generated  in  the  skin.  Odor  of  the  human  body.  Light  emanating  from 
a  human  body.  The  advantage  of  the  hair  simply  as  a  covering  of 
certain  portions  of  the  body;  considered  as  a  protection  to  the  head, 
and,  as  beard,  to  the  throat.  Its  elasticity  somewhat  protective  against 
blows.  Its  profusion  on  the  head  protective  against  the  bites  of  insects 
In  tropical  regions,  and  its  distribution  on  the  eyelashes  protective  against 
fine  particles  of  foreign  matter.  The  hair's  function  of  a  certain  degree 
of  elimination  of  effete  products  of  the  body. 


CHAPTER   IV. 
THE  COMPLEXION  31 

The  various  factors  upon  which  beauty  of  complexion  depends.  The  skin's 
variable  thickness  and  texture  in  different  individuals.  The  prime  con- 
dition of  a  good  complexion  lies  in  the  condition  of  the  blood  and  the 
nervous  system.  The  translucency  of  the  scarf-skin.  The  scarf-skin's 
dependence  for  color  upon  the  pigment  derived  from  its  lowest  layer. 
The  abundance  or  sparsity  of  pigment  is  what  makes  the  difference  of 
coloring  among  the  various  races  of  mankind.  The  influence  of  climate 
upon  the  color  of  the  scarf-skin.  The  effect  of  the  richness  of  the 
arterial  and  venous  circulation  below  the  scarf-skin  is  to  illuminate 
It  by  means  of  their  final  capillaries.  Nerve  fibers  accompany  every 
secreting  gland  and  blood-vessel.  Description  of  the  nervous  system  of 
the  body  as  a  whole.  The  vasomotor  system  of  the  body.  Its  function 
In  the  nutrition  of  every  portion  of  the  body's  tissues.  The  higher 
vasomotor  centers  connected  with  emotional  manifestation. 


(V) 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    V.  PAGE 

THE  ELEMENTS  OF  BEAUTY  AND  GRACE 4° 

Early  associations  largely  contributive  to  lifelong  standards  of  beauty.  The 
entirely  different  idea  of  beauty  among  savage  as  compared  with  that 
of  civilized  peoples.  Even  when  no  such  diversity  of  opinion  as  this 
exists,  racial  conceptions  of  beauty  are  clearly  differentiated.  Difference 
of  conception  regarding  them  perceptible  even  among  people  of  the  same 
race,  the  same  education,  and  the  same  social  position  and  surroundings, 
but  manifestly,  to  a  much  slighter  degree.  Female  loveliness  especially, 
the  favorite  theme  of  the  poetic,  plastic,  and  pictorial  arts.  The  shape 
of  the  head.  The  height  of  the  forehead.  The  size  and  shape  of  the 
nose.  The  typical  forms  of  the  nose.  The  position  and  fringing  of  the 
eye.  Its  various  capacity  of  expression.  The  shape  of  the  perfect  mouth. 
The  teeth  as  contributive  to  the  pleasant  expression  of  the  mouth.  The 
ear  as  an  important  adjunct  to  the  symmetry  of  the  head.  The  chin 
as  sightly  or  unsightly,  as  indication  of  weakness  or  of  strength  of 
character.  Expression,  however,  of  features  somewhat  independent  of 
regularity  of  features.  Removal  of  deformities  in  eyes,  nose,  ears,  and 
mouth.  The  human  form.  Curved  spine  and  remedial  measures  for  it. 
Leanness  to  the  point  of  emaciation.  Mere  leanness  compatible  with 
great  beauty.  Fatness.  Practices  capable  of  reducing  excess  of  adipose 
tissue.  Physical  loveliness  as  seen  through  the  eyes  of  poets  and  artists. 
Refinement  of  expression  a  beauty  in  itself. 

CHAPTER   VI. 
WORLD-INFLUENCE  OF  WOMAN'S  CHARMS 58 

Folly  of  the  assumption  that  if  women  ruled,  the  earth  would  be  the  best 
of  all  possible  worlds.  The  truth  about  the  matter  from  experience. 
The  Trojan  Paris  and  the  Grecian  Helen.  Pericles  and  Aspasia.  Cleo- 
patra, the  Serpent  of  the  Nile.  The  Duke  of  Marlborough  and  his  wife, 
Sarah  Jennings,  Madame  de  Stael,  the  literary;  and  Madame  Recamier, 
the  lovely.  The  celebrated  Theodora,  about  whom  opinions  vary  greatly. 
Women's  influence  upon  the  world's  affairs  has  been  very  various,  some- 
times good,  sometimes  bad.  Beauty  alone  in  them  has  not  always  been 
the  most  potent  factor  in  women's  influence  on  the  world.  They  are 
subject  to  the  same  influences  for  good  and  evil  as  is  man. 

CHAPTER   VII. 
EXPRESSION,  SEXUAL  ATTRACTION,  WEDLOCK 68 

Physiognomy  a  trustworthy  indication  of  character.  The  studies  of  the 
great  physiognomist,  Lavater.  Mantegazza,  the  Italian  writer,  quotes 
Lavater,  and  gives  his  own  idea  about  the  aspect  of  genius.  Shake- 
speare's recognition  of  the  value  of  physiognomy  in  determining  char- 
acter. Keen  perception  of  mental  attributes  from  inspection  of  a  por- 
trait. Mental  habits  of  mind  impress  their  states  upon  the  countenance. 
Illustration  from  George  Eliot's  "Romola."  Hawthorne's  contribution  to 
the  same  effect  in  his  "Septimius  Felton."  The  expression  of  Madame 
de  Sevigne,  corresponding  with  her  character,  testified  to  by  Madame  de 
Lafayette,  her  intimate  friend.  The  poet  Wordsworth's  testimony  to  the 
discernment  of  badness  by  purity  of  soul.  Vulgar  beauty  and  refined 
beauty.  The  impress  that  care  and  vice  make  on  the  face.  Unconscious 
imitation  of  one  person  by  another,  leading  to  likeness  between  them. 
Qualification  of  Lavater's  view  regarding  this  imitation.  Culture  indi- 
cated by  the  expression  of  countenance.  Temperance  in  all  things  indi- 
cated by  It.  Goodness  clearly  indicated  by  it.  The  blindness  of  first 
love  between  the  opposite  sexes.  The  low  plane  of  recognition  that 
women  occupied  even  among  the  most  advanced  nations  of  antiquity, 
as  compared  with  their  present  status  wherever  Christianity  prevails. 
The  absurdity  of  some  aristocratic  pretensions.  Women's  rivalry  for 
the  attention  of  men.  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson's  touching  affection  for  his 
homely  and  vulgar  wife.  Burns's  hallucination  about  the  last  one  of 
the  beau  KCXC  whom  he  admired.  Dante's  romantic  love  for  Beatrice. 
The  hereditariness  of  certain  diseases  which  are  destructive  of  beauty. 
The  desirability  of  ascertaining  before  marriage  if  any  of  these  are 
present  in  the  constitution  of  the  would-be  contracting  parties.  Self- 
denial  should  be  practiced  where  persons  are  aware  that  they  may  trans- 
mit disease.  Weak  will-power,  derived  from  a  faulty  nervous  system, 
inherits  various  tendencies,  to  drink,  and  to  its  concomitants.  The 
physical,  mental,  and  moral  deficiency  of  the  human  beings  born  during 
the  terrible  sufferings  in  the  siege  of  Paris  in  the  Franco-Prussian  War. 


CONTENTS.  Vii 

CHAPTER   VIII.  PAGE 

How  TO  CULTIVATE  AND  PRESERVE  A  GOOD  COMPLEXION 89 

The  expression  of  the  face  and  the  complexion  largely  under  command.  The 
influence  upon  the  expression  was  pointed  out  in  the  preceding  chapter. 
The  complexion  depends,  of  course,  to  a  certain  degree,  upon  the  treat- 
ment of  the  skin.  A  skin  well  nourished  by  blood  must  be  at  least  a 
healthy  skin.  Personal  habits  in  mode  of  life  and  in  ablution  promote 
the  healthiness  of  the  skin.  Inborn  inferiority  in  the  texture  of  the 
skin  cannot  be  remedied,  but  it  can  be  modified.  By  protecting  the 
face,  for  instance,  from  undue  exposure  to  the  sun,  abnormal  pigmen- 
tation of  it  is  prevented.  Obedience  in  every  respect  to  the  laws  of 
hygiene  is  indispensable  to  purity  of  the  complexion.  Mental  conditions 
affect  the  complexion  and  beauty  generally.  A  rational  life  in  all  respects 
is  conducive  to  what  the  body  can  accomplish  in.  the  way  of  good  looks 
as  to  every  particular. 


CHAPTER    IX. 
THE  BATH   91 

The  health-giving  and  beautifying  effect  of  cleanliness  of  person.  The 
removal  of  the  watery  and  oily  secretions  of  the  body  from  the  skin. 
The  indisputable  advantage  of  soap  and  water  for  this  purpose.  Con- 
sequences of  the  non-removal  of  those  secretions.  An  unclean  skin  the 
best  field  for  the  nourishment  of  microorganisms.  The  by-product  of 
those  microorganisms,  known  as  ptoinaina.  Pellicles  of  scarf-skin  are 
detached  continuously  from  the  body.  The  various  effects  produced  in 
the  body  by  different  degrees  of  the  temperature  of  water.  The  cold 
bath  as  compared  with  the  warm  bath.  Popular  misapprehension  about 
the  health  of  poor  children;  growing  out  of  superficial  observation  and 
no  examination  into  the  subject.  The  badly  nourished  children  of  the 
siege  of  Paris  in  1870.  Baths,  as  general  and  partial,  discussed.  The 
temperature  of  baths  considered  with  reference  to  the  season  of  the 
year.  Absurdity  of  bathing  in  ice-cold  water.  Shower-baths  and  douches. 
Low  vitality  of  many  persons  of  which  they  and  their  acquaintances  are 
unaware.  The  course  of  life  in  bathing  and  other  practices  which  such 
persons  should  pursue.  Bathing  appliances  for  use  and  comfort.  The 
benefit  of  sea-bathing,  with  caution  against  indulgence  in  it  to  excess. 
Interval  of  time  between  eating  a  meal  and  bathing.  Description  of  the 
cleanliness  of  some  savage  tribes.  The  tendency  of  civilized  people  of 
the  earliest  known  times  to  bathe  constantly.  The  law  of  Moses  regard- 
ing purification.  Bath-houses  in  Palestine.  Bathing  practiced  among 
the  Egyptians.  The  bathing  and  swimming  of  the  Greeks.  The  private 
bathroom  of  the  wealthy  Athenians.  Immoderate  use  of  the  warm  bath 
regarded  by  the  Greeks  as  a  sign  of  effeminacy.  The  luxurious  baths 
of  ancient  Persia.  The  elaborate  bath-houses  of  Rome  real  palaces,  con- 
structed for  bathing  and  many  other  diversions.  The  scientific  regula- 
tion of  heated  rooms  in  the  Roman  baths.  The  stupendous  public  baths 
of  Antoninus  Caracalla.  Bathing  among  Turks  and  Arabs.  The  Turkish 
bath  introduced  into  Europe  by  the  crusaders  after  their  return  from 
Palestine.  The  Russian  bath  described.  The  vapor-bath  of  the  North 
American  Indians.  The  bathing  of  the  Japanese.  Warm  water  compared 
with  cold  as  a  clearser.  The  necessity  for  the  use  of  soap  with  water  to 
produce  perfect  cleansing  of  the  body.  •  The  various  kinds  of  soaps  dis- 
cussed. The  more  delicate,  perfumed  soaps.  The  good  effect  of  bathing 
for  alleviating  torpidity  of  the  liver.  Removal  of  pimples  by  the  appli- 
cation of  hot  water.  Hot-water  baths  used  for  derangement  of  the 
perspiratory  function.  The  hot-bath  and  the  hot-douche  useful  in  cases 
of  excessive  perspiration  of  the  body  as  a  whole  or  in  part.  A  domestic 
substitute  for  a  public  Russian  bath.  How  hot  vapor  treatment  can  be 
administered  to  a  bed-ridden  person.  The  operation  called  "the  cold, 
wet-pack."  The  water-douche.  Treatment  of  the  summer  diarrhoea  of 
children  by  cold  water  application.  The  warm  bath  used  for  them  when 
seized  with  pain  or  spasms.  The  celebrated  "Kneipp  Cure." 


CHAPTER   X. 
DIGESTION  AND  INDIGESTION 114 

The  process  and  order  of  digestion.  Albumen  the  physical  basis  of  Life. 
Fats  and  oils.  Starch.  The  two  types  of  sugar.  Generation  of  scurvy. 
Illustration  of  the  fact  from  Dr.  Kane's  Arctic  Expedition.  Water  in  its 
function  of  dissolving  food.  The  constitution  of  the  blood,  apart  from 


viii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  X. — DIGESTION  AND  INDIGESTION   (continued). 

certain  other  of  its  attributes.  The  first  process  of  digestion.  The 
saliva  begins  and  the  small  intestines  end  it.  The  habit  of  bolting  food. 
The  course  that  food  takes  in  ingestion.  The  ferment  called  pepsin.  The 
time  that  elapses  for  perfect  digestion.  How  opportunity  has  been  occa- 
sionally afforded  for  observing  the  processes  of  digestion.  The  villous 
coat  and  the  follicles  of  the  stomach.  The  gastric  juice.  The  contribu- 
tion to  digestion  by  the  liver  and  the  pancreas.  Bile  and  pancreatic 
fluid.  How  they  differ  from  the  gastric  juice.  How  the  final  products 
of  digestion  eventually  enter  into  the  circulation.  Waste  products  car- 
ried off  by  the  liver  and  the  kidneys.  The  properly  trained  man  must, 
according  to  Plato,  be  careful  of  his  diet.  Both  as  to  quantity  and 
quality  food  should  be  eaten  with  discretion.  Detriment  to  good  looks 
arises  from  indulgence  in  over-eating,  as  well  as  from  too  much  drinking. 
Sluggishness  of  mind  and  body  are  also  the  consequences  of  such  indul- 
gence. The  intimate  relation  between  virtue,  health,  and  beauty.  The 
effects  produced  by  athletic  training.  Disorders  arising  from  functional 
derangement  of  the  liver.  Fat,  to  a  certain  degree,  desirable  for  the 
rounding  off  of  bodily  irregularities  of  the  skeleton.  Fat  as  a  reservoir 
of  heat  and  energy.  Pure  water  a  necessary  for  health.  The  question 
of  whether  or  not  water  should  be  drunk  at  meals.  The  usefulness  of 
coffee.  The  question  of  tea  considered.  Tea-drinking  in  its  domestic 
aspect.  The  nutritive  value  and  pleasantness  of  chocolate  as  a  bev- 
erage. The  old  question  as  to  whether  or  not  alcohol  is  food.  The 
danger  of  forming  the  habit  of  taking  alcoholic  stimulants.  The  exces- 
sive use  of  meat  in  the  United  States.  Franklin's  story  about  the  old 
lady  whom  he  knew,  who  ate  almost  nothing.  The  idiosyncrasies  of 
certain  persons  in  eating.  Women's  idiosyncrasy  more  fastidious  in 
eating  than  men's.  Women's  liking  for  kickshaws.  Dietetic  distastes 
from  prejudice.  The  various  tastes  throughout  the  world.  The  relative 
goodness  of  digestion  among  different  classes  of  people.  Regularity  of 
meals  an  important  factor  in  good  digestion,  and  also  disengagement 
from  business  cares.  The  best  judgment  is  that  which  makes  for  the 
greatest  satisfaction  in  life  in  the  long  run.  Cheerfulness  at  meals  con- 
ducive to  good  digestion.  Digestibility  and  nutritive  value  in  foods. 
Abstinence  from  exertion  of  body  and  mind  after  a  hearty  meal  is 
indispensable  to  good  digestion.  The  flesh  of  young  animals  not  so 
digestible  as  that  of  older  ones.  Fish  compared  with  meat  as  to  nutri- 
tive value.  The  injuriousness  of  a  diet  which  lacks  variety.  Vege- 
tables compared  with  meats  as  to  nutritive  value.  Various  vegetables 
regarded  as  to  their  respective  culinary  merits.  Hypochondriacal  watch- 
ing of  the  digestion.  Poor  cooking  responsible  for  much  indigestion. 
The  necessity  for  weak  stomachs  of  carefully  prepared  food.  Manner  of 
serving  important  in  stimulating  to  appetite.  Infectious  diseases  dis- 
seminated by  water,  ice,  and  milk.  An  outbreak  of  typhoid  fever  traced 
to  ice-cream  peddled  in  the  streets  of  London.  In  such  ice-cream  glue 
has  been  found  to  be  substituted  for  gelatine.  Great  precaution  to  be 
taken  in  large  cities  to  secure  pure  water,  ice,  cream,  and  milk. 


CHAPTER   XI. 
EDUCATION  OF  THE  BODY 146 

Muscular  superiority  in  ancient  times  regarded  as  the  highest  attribute. 
The  athletic  contests  at  Olympia.  The  late  revival  of  athletic  contests 
at  Athens.  The  runner  from  the  battlefield  of  Marathon  to  Athens.  That 
feat  of  his  still  preserved  in  memory  by  a  race  over  the  same  ground 
by  numerous  competitors.  The  difference  of  vie\»  between  the  Romans 
and  the  Greeks  with  regard  to  public  games.  The  tournaments  and 
jousts  of  the  knights  in  the  Middle  Ages.  The  introduction  of  gun- 
powder in  warfare  the  cause  of  the  following  neglect  of  athleticism. 
The  revival  of  athleticism  in  the  Napoleonic  wars.  The  English  devo- 
tion to  exercise  in  the  form  of  field- sports.  The  difference  of  opportu- 
nity among  different  classes  for  open-air  exercise.  The  English  practice 
among  professional  men  of  pedestrianism  and  mountain-climbing.  The 
advantage  of  this  kind  of  exercise  for  the  constitutionally  strong  who 
have  run  down  in  health  from  sedentary  occupations.  Walking  to  some 
degree  the  kind  of  exercise  at  most  persons'  disposition.  The  raising  of 
the  physical  standard  of  British  recruits  for  the  army  by  means  of 
physical  exercises.  The  treatment  of  many  chronic  disorders  by  the 
Greeks  through  the  instrumentality  of  exercise.  The  modern  medical 
profession  has,  perhaps,  neglected  too  much  the  value  of  exercise  in 
prescription  for  health.  The  present  tendency  to  associate  athletic  exer- 
cises with  institutions  of  learning  of  all  sorts.  The  occasional  injudi- 
ciousness  of  mothers  about  fresh  air  and  exercise  for  their  children. 
The  necessity  of  making  exercises  attractive.  The  desirability  of  less 
strenous  exercise  for  the  female  than  for  the  male  sex.  Physical  culture 


CONTENTS.  IX 

PAGE 

Important  to  good  eyesight.  The  great  desirability  of  learning  to  swim. 
The  best  way  in  which  to  learn  to  swim.  Boating  and  sailing.  Precau- 
tion to  be  taken  against  loss  of  life  in  aquatic  sports.  Fishing  as  a  quiet, 
pleasurable  sport  in  the  fresh  air  amid  pleasant  scenes  of  nature.  Skat- 
ing. Curling  in  Canada.  Coasting  with  the  double-ripper.  Running. 
Wrestling.  Quoits.  Archery.  Croquet  and  lawn-tennis.  Base-ball. 
Golf.  Bicycling.  The  effect  of  athletics  upon  the  mental  faculties  and 
the  disposition.  Boxing.  Fencing.  Health,  agility,  and  strength  the 
three  qualities  that  should  be  sought  in  athletics  among  men.  Among 
women,  it  should  be  sought  through  athletics  to  promote  health  and 
grace.  The  Delsarte  movements  in  calisthenics.  People  who  contribute 
to  or  make  their  invalidism  by  unhygienic  modes  of  life.  Judicious 
treatment  that  may  be  adopted  for  weak  children.  Dancing  with  music. 
The  male,  and  child,  as  compared  with  the  female  portion  of  country 
people.  The  hard  time  that  the  women  have  for  health  as  compared 
with  their  husbands  and  children.  The  extraordinary  strength  of  San- 
dow.  The  physical  history  tff  Dr.  Winship,  muscularly  strong,  organic- 
ally weak.  Leon  Javelli,  of  the  Ravel  troupe  of  pantomimists.  Rupture. 
Bone  broken  by  muscular  contraction.  Sleep  the  regenerative  agency  of 
the  body.  Functional  condition  of  the  skin  dependent  upon  health.  The 
heart's  structure  and  .methods  of  activity.  Injury  to  the  heart.  Injury 
to  the  lungs.  Exercise  for  the  lungs  in  consumption.  Massage  in  its 
efficacy  in  producing  functional  activity.  Massage  in  removing  certain 
skin  affections.  Relative  strength,  agility,  and  endurance  among  dif- 
ferent races  and  among  different  individuals  of  the  same  race.  The 
climate  and  topography  of  different  countries  as  affecting  physical  con- 
dition. The  question  of  health  of  the  greatest  importance. 

CHAPTER   XII. 
CULTIVATION  OF  THE  MIND 187 

The  child's  early  education.  Education  at  a  later  period  of  life  than  child- 
hood. Citation  of  the  cases  of  various  celebrated  persons  in  the  acquisi- 
tion of  knowledge.  The  injudieiousness  of  indulgence  for  children  in 
amusements  which  entail  late  hours  and  social  excitement.  Children's 
Innate  capacity  to  amuse  themselves  when  together.  The  Drexel  Insti- 
tute of  Philadelphia.  Its  various  subjects  of  instruction.  Philadelphia's 
Indebtedness  to  certain  men  of  science  mentioned.  The  Scotch  physician, 
John  Hunter.  The  career  of  Benjamin  Franklin.  Michael  Faraday. 
What  constitutes  real,  available  food  for  the  mind.  The  usefulness  and 
the  danger  of  imagination.  Different  kinds  of  literature.  Good  and  bad 
methods  of  reading.  The  relative  strength  of  men  and  women.  The 
higher  education  for  women.  Co-education  of  the  sexes.  Discovery  gen- 
erally made  by  men.  Men's  and  women's  general  difference  and  modes 
of  thinking.  The  intellectual  distinction  of  Sapho,  Zenobia,  Jeanne 
d'Arc,  Queen  Elizabeth,  Victoria  Colonna,  Mary  Somerville,  Hypatia, 
Madame  de  Stael,  Jane  Austen,  Charlotte  Bronte,  Elizabeth  Barrett 
Browning,  Harriet  B.  Martineau,  Marion  Evans  (George  Eliot),  Madame 
Curie.  The  circumscribing  facts  of  life  that  give  for  the  two  sexes 
tendencies  to  divergent  careers.  The  physical  effect  of  college  life  upon 
the  health  of  young  women.  The  connection  between  intellectuality  and 
longevity.  Chevreuil,  Baron  Liebig,  Galileo,  Flamsteed,  Jeremy  Ben- 
tham,  Leibnitz,  La  Grange,  Laplace,  Alexander  von  Humboldt,  William 
Cullen  Bryant,  Wieland,  von  der  Vondel,  Calderon,  Metastasio,  Lope  de 
Vega,  Daniel  Webster,  Henry  Clay,  Horace  Binney,  Benjamin  Franklin. 
So-called  "Muscular  Christianity."  The  relation  between  cultivation  of 
the  mind  and  physical  beauty. 

» 

CHAPTER   XIII. 
CLOTHING  AND  DRESS 221 

Clothing  from  three  essentially  different  points  of  view.  The  permanency 
of  the  style  of  dress  among  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans.  Description 
of  the  articles  of  dress  worn  by  the  Greek  men  and  women.  The  dress 
of  the  Romans  and  the  Etruscans.  The  articles  of  dress  worn  by  the 
Roman  men  and  women.  The  dress  of  the  Anglo-Saxons.  The  dress  of 
the  Norman  nobility  and  of  the  Norman  peasantry.  The  beginning  of 
modern  styles  of  dress  in  the  sixteenth  century.  The  fashion  in  early 
Tudor  times.  The  fashions  in  Queen  Elizabeth's  time.  Fashions  in  the 
reign  of  James  I  of  England.  Fashions  in  the  times  of  Charles  I  of 
England.  The  costume  of  Charles  II  of  England.  Fashions  in  England 
in  the  last  half  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Fashions  in  the  time  of 
William  III  of  England,  in  that  of  Queen  Anne,  and  that  of  George  I. 
The  new  style  in  France  at  the  beginning  of  the  French  Revolution. 
The  plainness  of  costumes  everywhere  among  the  male  sex  shortly 
after  that  time  to  the  present  flay,  Clothing  not  in  itself  warm,  but 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIII. — CLOTHING  AND  DRESS  (continued}. 

worn  merely  because  retaining  heat  generated  by  the  body.  The  proper 
character  of  underclothes.  Linen,  cotton,  silk,  as  related  to  clothing. 
The  first  knowledge  of  silk  in  European  countries.  Leather  and  fur  as 
used  for  clothing.  Color  of  goods  with  reference  to  absorbing  and  radiat- 
ing heat.  Constant  renewal  of  underclothing  judicious.  The  injurious 
effects  of  some  dyes  for  underclothes.  The  importance  of  always  keeping 
the  feet  dry  and  warm.  Shoes  as  a  protection  for  the  feet.  Caution 
against  wearing  shoes  that  are  too  small  or  too  high-heeled.  Recom- 
mendation about  the  garter.  Consequences  that  have  been  known  to 
arise  from  wearing  garters  too  tight.  The  tight  corset  and  the  ana- 
tomical horrors  that  it  produces.  The  veil  protectively  and  aesthetic- 
ally. Difference  among  people  in  the  amount  of  clothing  required  for 
\varmth.  The  beginning  of  the  use  of  gloves.  The  knightly  significance 
of  the  glove  in  love  and  combat.  Modern  constant  change  of  fashion 
in  dress  among  women.  The  long  train  for  street  wear  now  finally 
discarded  in  the  interest  of  cleanliness  and  health. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 
THE  INFLUENCE  OF  CLIMATE  UPON  HEALTH 243 

Where  climate  affords  the  best  advantages  for  the  flourishing  of  the  human 
race.  Apparent  relative  immunity  of  some  tribes  from  disease.  Climates 
the  best  which  afford  most  open-air  occupation.  Cold  and  moist  climates 
compared.  The  influence  of  swamps  and  of  irrigation.  The  complexion 
as  influenced  by  climate.  Temperate  climates  produce  the  highest  forms 
of  civilization.  Climates  as  differentiated  in  mainland  and  insular 
regions.  Ideal  marine  climate.  The  three  classes  of  marine  climate. 
Marine  climate  appropriate  to  many  persons.  Land  climates  differ  from 
the  latitude  and  elevation  of  ground.  Mental  and  physical  advantages 
often  arising  for  invalids  from  change  of  climate.  Unhealthy  surround- 
ings a  stimulus  for  scrofula.  Description  of  the  symptoms  of  scrofula. 
The  favorable  influence  of  certain  climates  upon  bronchial  affections. 
Checking  of  consumption  through  judicious  change  of  climate.  Various 
modes'  of  travel  and  places  of  sojourn.  Diabetes,  chronic  rheumatism, 
chronic  malaria,  liver  complaint,  as  climatically  treated.  Mountain  air 
and  sea  voyage  beneficial  for  insomnia,  but  the  seashore  better  than 
mountainous  regions.  A  sea  voyage  beneficial  in  cases  of  nervous  depres- 
sion, neuralgia,  etc.  Climates  that  are  detrimental  to  health.  Many 
present  characteristic  tropical  diseases  removable  by  sanitary  measures. 
What  characteristics  of  climate  chiefly  hinge  upon.  Equable  climates 
and  extreme  climates.  Rainy,  partially  rainy,  and  rainless  climates. 
The  Gulf  Stream  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  Black  Current  of  the  Pacific 
as  warmth-bearing  streams.  The  heat  of  the  sun  at  different  periods  of 
the  year.  The  temperature  of  a  country  not  referable  solely  to  its  lati- 
tude. The  various  causes  that  contribute  to  the  kind  of  climate  in  any 
particular  region  of  the  earth. 


CHAPTER   XV. 
VENTILATION   267 

The  composition  of  the  atmosphere.  The  part  that  nitrogen  plays  in  the 
composition  of  the  atmosphere.  The  solid,  liquid,  and  gaseous  forms 
of  matter.  Liquid  air.  The  composition  of  water.  Aquatic  and  am- 
phibious animals.  Why  air  is  caused  to  move  as  wind.  Knowledge  of 
the  fact  implies  knowledge  of  ventilation.  The  presence  of  an  abnormal 
amount  of  carbonic-acid  gas  in  unventilated  rooms.  The  necessity  for 
having  plenty  of  atmospheric  outlet  and  inlet  by  way  of  getting  rid 
of  this  poisonous  gas.  The  use  of  windows,  doors,  and  air-shafts, 
depending  upon  what  season  it  is,  for  getting  rid  of  carbonic-acid  gas 
in  dwelling  places.  Provisions  for  fresh  air  during  sleep,  with  avoidance 
of  draughts.  Transoms,  air-shafts,  doors,  windows,  gratings.  Air  as 
received  into  the  lungs  and  air  expelled  from  them  compared.  The 
closeness  of  unventilated  rooms.  Foul  air  good  atmosphere  for  the 
production  of  microbes.  How  persons  suffer  who  habitually  live  in 
stuffy  rooms.  Charles  Dickens's  graphic  description  of  a  close  school- 
room. The  death  of  prisoners  held  in  the  "Black  Hole"  of  Calcutta. 
The  dwellings  of  Icelanders.  The  disease  of  trismun  associated  with  poor 
ventilation.  The  symptoms  of  asphyxia  from  breathing  plentifully  of 
carbonic-acid  gas.  Pure  air,  desirable  in  health,  indispensable  in  illness. 
The  present  treatment  of  consumption  by  pure  air.  Ventilation  in  the 
cases  of  severe  fever.  Cleanliness  in  air,  house,  body,  dress,  food,  work, 
habits  of  all  kinds,  the  whole  field  of  sanitary  life. 


CONTENTS.  XI 

CHAPTER   XVI.  PAGE 

DISFIGUREMENT  FROM  DISEASE,  WITH  SOME  TREATMENT  OF  IT 279 

What  complexion  stands  for  in  the  healthfulness  and  constitutional  fiber 
of  the  skin.  Pallor  caused  by  anaemia.  The  green  sickness  of  young 
women.  Biliousness,  which  arises  from  torpidity  of  the  liver.  The  best 
medicines  and  exercises  for  its  treatment.  Jaundice,  and  the  various 
colors  which  under  its  influence  the  skin  assumes.  Gall-stones.  Malaria 
and  constipation  as  causes  of  jaundice.  Prescriptions  for  the  affection. 
Jaundice  caused  by  emotion.  Acute  yellow  atrophy  of  the  liver,  of 
nervous  origin.  Its  symptoms  and  dangerous  character.  The  symptoms 
which  characterize  diabetes.  The  sources  of  contagious  diseases  to  be 
found  in  the  presence  of  microbes.  Diseases  of  the  skin  may  be  caused 
by  mental  excitement  making  nervous  disturbances.  The  distinctive 
symptoms  of  nettlerash.  So-called  "cold  sores"  or  "fever  blisters." 
Description  of  the  disease  medically  known  as  pemphigus,  for  which 
there  is  no  popular  name.  Redness  of  the  skin  described.  The  various 
causes  which  produce  the  affection  called  "glossy  skin."  The  appear- 
ance of  the  skin  when  so  affected.  Diffuse  inflammation  of  the  skin 
accompanied  with  blisters,  a  rather  uncommon  disease.  The  symptoms 
of  the  disease  and  its  origin.  The  appearance1  of  psoriasis  or  dry  tetter. 
Its  occasional  hereditariness  and  origin.  The  appearance  of  dropsy  of 
the  skin.  Hysterical  conditions  causative  of  it.  The  appearance  of  the 
rare  disease  of  hardening  of  the  skin.  Fish-skin  disease  characterized 
by  a  covering  of  scales.  Colorless  patches  that  sometimes  appear  upon 
the  skin.  White  pimples  which  may  be  generated  by  nervous  derange- 
ments of  the  skin.  The  causes  of  ulcers.  The  affections  with  which 
they  may  be  associated.  The  death  of  certain  areas  of  skin  which  is 
known  as  gangrene.  Scrofula  a  constitutional  disease.  The  difficulty 
of  treating  certain  skin  diseases  if  the  children  having  them  are  consti- 
tionally  tainted  with  scrofula.  The  liabilities  to  which  persons  with 
scrofulous  taint  have  to  suffer  from  catarrhal  attacks.  Medical  prescrip- 
tions for  scrofula.  The  necessity  in  some  cases  of  surgical  interference. 
Liver  spots,  yellow  spots,  and  blotches.  Medical  prescriptions.  Tinea 
versicolor  a  parasitic  disease.  Recommendations  for  treating  it.  Oily 
skin,  scurf,  and  dandruff  considered  under  the  head  of  seborrhosa.  Med- 
ical prescriptions  for  it.  Its  dry  variety.  Medical  prescription.  The 
nutrition  of  the  scalp  promoted  by  massage.  Treatment  for  threatened 
baldness  should  begin  early.  The  disease  of  acne  characterized  by  red 
and  white  pimples.  Acne  is  a  constitutional  disease.  Black  heads  in  the 
skin,  medically  known  as  comedones.  A  trivial  but  disfiguring  affection. 
Medical  prescriptions.  Rosacea,  or  red  nose  and  cheeks.  The  great  dis- 
figurement which  it  may  reach  in  extreme  cases.  Constitutional  treat- 
ment for  it  required.  Medical  prescriptions  for  its  treatment.  Recom- 
mendation for  the  second  stage  of  the  disease.  Galvanism  useful  for  it. 
Tetter,  salt-rheum,  milk  crust,  is  what  physicians  call  eczema.  More 
prevalent  in  the  male  than  in  the  female  sex.  It  may  be  acute  or 
chronic.  The  symptoms  of  the  acute  and  of  the  chronic  kind.  Appro- 
priate local  applications  in  it  are  serviceable.  Medical  prescriptions  for 
local  treatment  of  it.  Ointments  for  it  sometimes  preferable  to  powders. 
Medical  prescriptions  for  ointments  for  it.  Bathing,  medicated  soaps, 
etc.,  recommended  for  it.  Medical  prescription.  Recommendation  how 
to  relieve  its  itching  symptom.  The  liability  of  very  young  children  to 
attacks  of  tetter.  Why  it  differs  in  character  in  attacking  children  and 
adults.  Advice  to  call  in  a  physician  as  soon  as  possible  in  the  case  of 
children's  diseases.  What  is  medically  known  as  erythema.  The  various 
causes  that  may  produce  it.  The  difference  between  burns  and  scalds, 
and  the  difference  in  their  treatment.  The  first  object  is  to  relieve  from 
pain  and  nervous  shock.  The  kinds  of  dressing  used  for  treatments. 
Description  of  the  mode  of  skin-grafting.  The  causes  of  chilblains. 
What  should  be  done  to  relieve  and  to  cure  sufferers  from  an  attack. 
The  medicaments  that  are  useful  for  the  purpose.  Medical  prescription 
for  lotions  and  ointments  found  I'seful  in  the  affection.  The  nature  of 
the  ulcer.  Rest  an  essential  in  the  treatmpnt  of  ulcers.  Internal  treat- 
ment. External  treatment.  Lotion,  powder,  and  ointment  for  local 
application.  What  constitutes  a  boil.  Ordinarv  boils  and  blind  boils. 
Recommendations  to  persons  attacked  by  boils.  Lotions,  ointments, 
lunar  caustic,  depending  upon  circumstances,  used  in  their  treatment. 
The  symptoms  accompanying  the  advent  of  carbuncle.  The  character  of 
carbuncles.  How  the  system  must  be  supported  during  a  carbuncular 
attack.  A  paste  well  adnpted  to  their  treatmmt.  The  use  of  warm 
poultices  as  final  applications.  Urticaria  is  the  medical  name  for  nettle- 
rash.  How  the  affection  generally  originates.  The  foods  that  may  cause 
an  outbreak  of  it  in  certain  persons.  Its  appearance.  It  may  be  symto- 
matic  of  some  other  affection  of  the  general  svstfm.  It  may  become 
chronic.  The  best  means  to  meet  an  attack.  Medical  prescription  for 
it.  Treatment  of  the  affection  by  mineral  waters.  Recommendation  of 
jnborandi.  Other  things  that  may  allay  the  itching.  Prescription  for 
local  treatment  by  lotions  and  by  an  ointment  recommended.  Prickly- 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XVI. — DISFIGUREMENT  FROM  DISEASE,  ETC.  (continued). 

beat  is  medically  shown  as  miliaria.  Whence  it  comes,  and  the  kind 
of  persons  whom  it  attacks.  Simple  treatment  all  that  is  necessary  in 
this  affection.  Lotions  and  ointments  are  all  that  are  necessary  for  it. 
Ivy-poisoning  from  varieties  of  ivy  and  sumach.  Lotions  used  in  this 
kind  of  poisoning.  Parasites  belong  to  both  the  animal  and  the  vege- 
table kingdoms.  In  the  case  of  itch,  it  is  an  insect  that  produces  the 
disease.  Where  the  disease  is  most  prevalent.  The  regions  of  the  body 
which  by  preference  it  attacks.  Treatment  of  the  disease  directed  to 
killing  the  parasite  and  relieving  the  irritation  of  the  skin.  Lousiness, 
too,  arises  from  the  insect  parasite  well  known  among  physicians  and 
the  poor,  and  sometimes  coming  to  the  knowledge  of  the  most  cleanly 
travelers.  There  are  two  kinds  of  lousiness.  The  best  way  to  remove 
bead-lice.  The  best  way  to  remove  body-lice.  The  large  class  of  skin 
diseases  coming  under  the  head  of  ringworm  is  due  to  fungus  growth 
of  parasites.  How  the  disease  looks  when  it  appears  upon  the  bod/. 
Lotions  and  ointments  used  in  its  treatment.  Medical  prescription  for 
a  useful  application  in  the  form  of  an  ointment.  The  form  of  ring- 
worm known  as  "barber's  itch"  is  so  called  because  it  has  often  been 
caught  from  the  barber's  implements.  The  disease  is  contagious.  Its 
appearance  in  the  beard.  Procedure  to  be  adopted  for  cure.  Medical 
prescription  of  a  good  lotion  for  its  treatment.  Safeguard  against  com- 
municating the  disease  by  contact  with  another  person.  How  ringworm 
of  the  scalp  begins.  Its  production  of  baldness.  It,  also,  is  a  con- 
tagious disease,  sometimes  spreading  through  families,  children's  asy- 
lums, and  schools.  Measures  for  relief.  Sycosis,  as  the  affection  is 
medically  termed,  resembles  "barber's  itch"  in  the  singular  particular 
that  it,  too,  attacks  the  hairy  portions  of  the  face  of  adult  men;  but 
it,  unlike  "barber's  itch,"  is  not  a  parasitic  disease.  How  it  first  shows 
itself.  The  pain  accompanying  the  eruption.  Its  pimples  very  unlike 
those  of  "barber's  itch."  Diet  necessary  for  its  treatment.  Solution 
used.  Ointment  used.  Herpes  is  the  medical  name  for  an  affection  which 
presents  itself  in  the  form  of  groups  of  blisters.  A  good  application  for 
the  affection.  The  form  of  herpes  known  as  shingles.  The  eruption 
consists  of  little  blisters  upon  a  reddened  skin.  Its  duration.  It  some- 
times attacks  the  face  and  eyes.  How  to  relieve  the  pain.  Medical 
prescription  for  a  paste  as  an  application.  Medical  prescription  for  a 
lotion.  The  disease  of  erysipelas,  known  popularly  as  "the  rose"  and 
as  "St.  Anthony's  fire."  How  it  begins.  Its  serious  depression  of 
strength.  The  invasion  of  underlying  parts  in  certain  cases  of  ery- 
sipelas. It  is  a  parasitic  disease.  The  parasite  enters  through  some 
break  in  the  skin.  It  is  only  slightly  contagious.  Internal  as  well  as 
external  treatment  is  to  be  used.  A  medical  prescription  for  an  oint- 
ment. A  great  many  antiseptic  substances  used  of  late  years  by  physi- 
cians in  the  treatment  of  erysipelas.  Some  of  them  mentioned.  Albinism, 
which  is  an  affection  where  the  natural  pigmentation  of  the  skin  is 
absent.  It  may  be  partial  or  it  may  include  the  whole  body.  The  partial 
kind  is  more  common  among  the  dark  races  than  among  the  light  ones. 
Partial  albinism  makes,  of  course,  white  spots.  Several  conditions  rec- 
ognized under  the  title  of  "mother's  marks."  The  mole  and  the  claret 
or  port-wine  stain.  Their  great  disfigurement  when  on  the  face.  The 
four  processes  by  which  they  may  be  removed.  The  affection  more  com- 
mon in  the  male  than  in  the  female  sex.  The  mode  in  which  warts  may 
appear.  The  localities  which  they  may  invade.  The  medicine  for  inter- 
nal treatment  generally  used.  Local  treatment  for  the  affection.  Lunar 
caustic,  strangulation,  galvanism.  The  popular  misapprehension  about 
the  constitution  of  corns.  Their  treatment  by  the  removal  of  pressure 
and  by  local  application.  The  growth  of  horns  as  an  extraordinary  modi- 
fication of  the  scarf-skin.  Pigmentation,  that  is,  abnormal  coloration 
of  the  skin,  is  sometimes  temporary,  sometimes  permanent.  Causes  that 
bring  it  about.  Methods  to  be  employed  for  its  removal  by  absorption. 
A  physician's  treatment  indispensable  for  nervous  affections  of  the  skin 
which  evidence  some  serious  constitutional  disorder.  Neuralgia  of  the 
skin  accompanied  by  pricking,  burning,  or  shooting  pain.  More  com- 
mon among  women  than  among  men.  Constitutional  and  local  treat- 
ment both  needed.  Some  few  recommendations  made  for  its  treat- 
ment. The  various  sizes,  situations,  and  positions  which  scars  may 
assume.  The  surgical  treatment  of  scars.  Their  treatment  by  massage 
and  by  galvanization.  Various  causes  which  may  produce  itching  of 
the  skin.  Creeping,  tingling,  and  burning  sensations  may  also  be  experi- 
enced by  the  skin.  These  perversions  of  sensibility  may  be  the  only 
manifestations  present  of  disease  of  the  skin.  What  the  physician  does 
in  case  he  cannot  find  the  special  cause  of  the  disease.  The  applications 
that  are  good  for  local  treatment.  Bites  and  stings  inflicted  by  numerous 
kinds  of  insects.  The  effect  of  these  upon  persons  of  very  delicate  skin. 
The  bed-bug.  The  tick.  Remedial  measures  for  extirpation  of  bed-bugs 
and  ticks  and  for  treatment  of  sufferers  from  their  bites.  The  disease 
of  cancer.  Removal  of  the  superficial  kind  by  means  of  surgery.  The 
age  at  which  cancer  of  the  skin  generally  appears.  The  diet  for  patients 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 

PAGE 

suffering  from  cancer.  Medical  internal  and  external  treatment  for  it 
when  the  disease  is  superficial.  The  deposition  of  the  coloring  matter 
of  the  skin  in  the  form  known  as  freckles.  Four  medical  prescriptions 
given  for  lotions  for  the  skin  so  affected.  Galvanism  recommended.  The 
tumor  known  as  a  wen.  It  may  occur  anywhere  on  the  body.  The  cause 
whence  wens  arise.  Their  favorite  location.  Their  characteristics.  Their 
growth.  How  they  must  be  removed.  The  cutaneous  disorder  of  exces- 
sive perspiration.  Description  of  its  external  and  internal  treatment. 
Various  lotions,  dusting-powders,  and  ointments  to  be  used  for  the 
affection.  The  treatment  of  odorous  perspiration.  Local  treatment  by 
soap  and  water  and  various  chemicals.  Prescription  tor  lotion  and  oint- 
ment for  the  purpose.  The  treatment  for  suppressed  perspiration.  Its 
consequence  as  seen  in  the  condition  of  the  skin.  The  affection  may 
.  be  derived  from  or  complicated  with  diseases  of  the  skin.  The  proper 
mode  of  treatment  for  this  affection.  Diet,  bath,  fresh  air,  exercise, 
massage,  certain  drugs,  all  enter  into  the  treatment  of  it.  Persons 
of  certain  complexion  and  facial  habits  most  liable  to  wrinkling  prema- 
turely. Counsel  to  avoid  the  habit  of  grimacing  productive  of  wrinkles. 

CHAPTER   XVII. 
ERUPTIVE  FEVERS   346 

Characteristic  eruptions  of  eruptive  fevers.  The  times  of  year  in  which 
measles  generally  occur.  The  symptoms  attendant  upon  the  appearance 
of  an  attack  of  measles.  The  possible  complications  that  may  occur 
during  a  case  of  measles.  The  peculiar  relations  subsisting  between 
measles,  scrofula,  and  consumption.  Where  a  patient  should  be  placed 
upon  being  attacked,  and  how  treated.  Medical  directions  for  treatment. 
What  should  be  done  when  pneumonia  enters  as  a  complication  of 
measles,  and  what  should  be  done  when  bronchitis  enters  as  a  compli- 
cation. Medical  directions  for  this  particular  case.  Malignant  or  so- 
called  "black  measles."  How  its  onset  should  be  met.  The  great  dif- 
ference in  the  severity  of  attacks  of  scarlet  fever.  A  disease  always 
to  be  dreaded  on  account  of  the  uncertainty  attending  the  degree  in 
severity  of  its  development.  The  interval  between  contagion  and  the 
appearance  of  the  disease.  Light  scarlet  fever  described.  Appearance 
of  the  rash  in  different  localities.  The  second  and  more  intense  variety 
of  the  disease  described.  The  character  of  the  third  and  most  severe 
variety,  known  as  malignant  scarlet  fever.  Relapses  in  scarlet  fever. 
The  after-effects  of  fever  upon  convalescence.  The  complications  that 
may  occur  in  the  disease.  The  interior  of  the  ear  may  become  inflamed. 
Diphtheria  may  supervene  in  malignant  scarlet  fever.  Disease  of  the 
joints  may  follow  scarlet  fever.  Pleurisy  sometimes  follows  it.  Dropsy 
also  may  follow  it.  This  shows  the  kidneys  are  affected.  The  procedure 
that  should  be  adopted  for  treating  a  child  for  scarlet  fever.  The  very 
marked  character  of  the  symptoms  appearing  with  an  attack  of  scarlet 
fever.  Some  directions  for  procedure.  Various  formulae  for  ointments 
to  be  used  on  the  skin.  The  use  of  ice  and  of  gargles.  Formulae  for  a 
good  gargle.  Preparation  for  spraying  the  throat  when  in  unhealthy 
condition.  The  cleansing  agent  chlorine.  What  to  do  when  the  tonsils 
are  swollen.  Inflammation  between  the  back  of  the  throat  and  the  inside 
of  the  nose.  What  to  do  for  it.  Invasion  of  the  ear  by  inflammation 
needs  careful  medical  treatment  by  a  physician.  Some  alleviation  of  the 
distress  from  it.  Internal  treatment  for  scarlet  fever.  No  specific  exists 
for  arresting  the  disease.  Advice  for  mild  cases.  Formulae  for  a  dose 
to  be  given  to  a  child.  Chlorate  of  potash.  Tincture  of  iron.  Looseness 
of  bowels.  The  treatment  of  severe  cases  of  scarlet  fever  substantially 
the  same  as  that  for  mild  ones.  The  best  method  for  reducing  the  tem- 
perature of  the  body.  In  the  most  severe  cases  the  poisonous  action  of 
the  disease  is  profound.  What  is  essential  to  do  in  cases  of  the  malig- 
nant variety  of  the  fever.  Medical  prescription  for  cases  of  great  pros- 
tration. The  possible  sequel  of  the  disease  even  for  convalescents. 
Advice  as  to  procedure  when  the  kidneys  have  been  affected.  Medical 
prescription  related  to  convulsions  of  scarlet  fever  in  its  early  stage. 
Prescription  for  a  liniment  useful  in  scarlatinal  rheumatism  following 
scarlet  fever.  The  summoning  of  a  physician  for  the  treatment  of  scarlet 
fever  is  all-important,  so  dangerous  is  it  in  character.  German  measles, 
known  also  as  French  measles,  sometimes  puzzling  to  diagnose.  Its 
first  symptom.  Its  progress  in  manifestation  and  time.  Really,  so  trivial 
an  affection  as  to  need  scarcely  any  medical  treatment.  The  loathsome 
and  disfiguring  disease  of  smallpox.  Known  to  the  Chinese  a  thousand 
years  before  the  Christian  era.  Four  varieties  of  it  recognized:  vario- 
loid,  discrete  smallpox,  confluent  smallpox,  and  malignant  smallpox. 
Varioloid  described.  Discrete  smallpox  described.  Confluent  smallpox 
described.  Malignant  smallpox  described.  Genernl  directions  for  the 
course  to  pursue  to  meet  the  onset  of  smallpox.  What  to  do  when  it 
begin*  Prescription  for  a  mixture  to  be  used  in  case  of  the  complication 
with  bronchitis.  The  best  measures  to  adopt  to  prevent  scarring. 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XVII. — ERUPTIVE  FEVERS  (continued).  PAQE 

Watching  of  the  eyes  important.  Disinfection  of  discharges.  Vaccination 
regarded  as  important  for  securing  perfect  immunity  from  the  disease. 
The  contagious  but  mild  affection  of  chickenpox.  Almost  wholly  con- 
fined to  young  children.  Description  of  its  symptoms.  Occasional  dif- 
ficulty of  at  once  distinguishing  it  from  varioloid.  The  doubt,  however, 
soon  resolved  by  observation.  Little  or  no  medical  treatment  is  required 
by  the  disease,  on  account  of  its  being  so  mild.  The  main  treatment  for 
it  merely  retention  in  the  house  and  a  light  diet. 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 
THE  HAIR,  ITS  FASHIONS  AND  ITS  DISEASES 380 

The  fashion  of  the  hair  among  various  peoples  of  antiquity.  The  fashion  of 
the  hair  in  the  middle  ages.  The  fashion  of  the  hair  in  modern  times. 
Baldness,  whether  partial  or  complete,  discussed.  Affections  which  cause 
baldness.  Various  recipes  for  pomatums  and  washes  for  the  head. 
Dusting-powder  for  the  hair.  Directions  for  examining  hair  for  the 
purpose  of  detecting  inferior  growth.  The  dry  shampoo  and  the  wet 
shampoo.  Acute  and  chronic  baldness.  The  various  disorders  of  the 
scalp  which  cause  baldness.  Recommendations  for  treating  the  affected 
scalp.  Measures  for  treating  its  condition.  Nine  formula?  for  removing 
dandruff  and  stimulating  the  growth  of  the  hair.  Circumscribed  bald- 
ness. How  it  may  be  distinguished  from  ringworm  of  the  scalp.  How  to 
treat  it.  Three  formulas  for  application.  Grayness  of  hair.  Grayness 
as  arising  from  age.  Freaks  of  grayness  in  the  hair  in  youth.  Single 
tufts  of  gray  hair  sometimes  hereditary.  Grayness  from  fright.  Occa- 
sional change  from  gray  to  dark  hair  in  old  persons.  Sudden  change  to 
grayness  from  strong  emotion.  The  hair  of  albinoes.  Administration  used 
to  remove  the  cause  of  grayness.  Dyes  for  the  hair  are  mineral  and 
vegetable.  The  application  of  hair-dyes.  A  simple  formula  for  a  hair- 
dye.  The  use  ot  nitrate  of  silver  as  a  hair-dye.  How  to  apply  it.  For- 
mula for  a  hair-bleaching  mixture.  Two  formulae  for  hair-curling  fluids. 
Excessive  hairiness.  The  disfigurement  that  it  causes.  The  celebrated 
case  of  a  family  excessively  hairy  as  to  some  of  its  members.  Two  other 
cases  that  are  well  known.  The  growth  of  moustaches  in  women.  How 
the  blemish  can  be  removed.  Excessive  hairiness  as  sometimes  arising 
from  disease  of  mind  or  body.  Hairiness  in  males.  The  ease  with  which 
superfluous  hairiness  can  be  removed  by  galvanism.  Removal  of  the 
hair  by  caustics.  Formula  for  a  depilatory.  Atrophy  of  the  hair.  Its 
appearance  under  those  circumstances.  It  may  be  owing  to  constitu- 
tional or  local  conditions.  Directions  how  to  treat  it.  Formula  for  an 
application  for  the  scalp. 

CHAPTER   XIX. 
THE  NAILS  AND  THEIR  DISEASES 410 

The  nails  appendages  of  the  scarf-skin.  Appearance  that  the  nails  assume 
in  the  condition  of  atuemia,  and  in  the  diseases  of  chlorosis  and  leu- 
kaemia. Their  not  unusual  loss  in  diabetes  mellitus.  Their  liability  to 
become  thickened  in  pernicious  anccmia.  Serious  organic  diseases  may 
cause  shedding  of  the  nails.  The  strange  shapes  which  they  sometimes 
assume  in  disease.  The  marking  to  which  they  are  subject.  Malignant 
onychia,  a  serious  inflammation  of  the  bed  of  the  nail.  Its  painfulness 
from  ulceratipn.  Its  appearance.  Its  treatment.  Disease  of  the  nails 
caused  by  injury.  Caused  by  parasitic  invasion.  The  affection  of  in- 
growing nail.  Its  consequences.  Inflammation  of  the  nail  as  leading  to 
alteration  in  its  intimate  structure.  Varieties  of  it  attack  artisans  and 
confectioners.  Strange  localities  for  growths  of  nails  sometimes  occur. 
Overgrowth  of  nails  most  common  in  old  age.  Remedies  to  be  adopted. 
Atrophy  of  the  na'ls  makes  them  small,  brittle,  and  easily  destroyed. 
Whence  tetter  of  the  nails  generally  proceeds.  The  best  of  application 
for  atrophy  of  the  nails.  The  parasite  of  ringworm  of  the  body  some- 
times penetrates  the  substance  of  the  nail.  Directions  for  treating 
atrophy  of  the  nail. 

CHAPTER   XX. 
COSMETIC  PREPARATIONS 417 

Ointments  and  pomatums.  Three  recipes  for  cold  cream.  Cold  cream  (vase- 
line). Two  recipes  for  cold  cream.  Cream  of  nuts  (cream  de  nouveaux). 
Cold  cream  (violet).  Camphor  cold  cream  (camphor-ice).  Camphor-ice. 


CONTENTS.  XV 

PAGE: 

Cream  shampo.  Cold  cream  (honey-and-almond).  Cream  (Recamier). 
Cream  (quince-seed).  Cream-balm.  Cold  cream  (cucumber).  Cold  cream 
(pornmade-divme).  Camphor-paste.  Creain  or  marrow  pomade.  Per- 
fumes, soaps,  colognes,  etc.  Compound  essence  of  orris-root.  White- 
lilac  extract.  Jonquille-extract.  Two  recipes  for  verbena-extract.  Win- 
tergreen-extract.  Lily-of-the-valley  extract.  Mignonette-extract.  New- 
mown-hay  extract.  Stephanotis-extract.  Orange-nower  extract.  Musk- 
extract.  Marie  Stuart  extract.  Violet  extract.  Wood-violet  extract. 
Three  recipes  for  inexpensive  perfumes.  Sicilian  essence.  Handkerchief 
perfume.  Essence  of  Peruvian  balsam.  Heliotrope  bouquet.  Mixed  scent. 
Compound  essence  of  Tonquin-bean.  Heliotrope-water.  Christiani's 
volatile  essence.  New-mown  hay.  New  garden  nosegay.  Powder  of  a 
thousand  flowers.  Lavender-powder.  Rose-powder.  Verbena-powder. 
VioleUpowder.  Heliotrope-sachet.  Geranium-sachet.  White-rose  solid 
perfume.  Lavender  solid  perfume.  Bouquet  solid  perfume.  Cologne 
solid  perfume.  Rose-soap.  Vanilla-soap.  Frangipanni-soap.  Lavender- 
soap.  Orauge-flower  soap.  Cedar-soap.  Shaving  soap.  Persian  bouquet. 
Three  recipes  for  Florida-water.  Eau-du-Portugal.  Eau-du-botot. 
Orange-flower-water.  Violet-water.  Two  recipes  for  Lavender-water. 
Geranium-water.  Two  recipes  for  Hungary-water.  Triple  espnt-de-rose. 
Eucalyptus-water.  Magnolia-sachet.  Rose-sachet.  Verbena-sachet.  Vio- 
let-sachet. Two  recipes  for  violet-sachet.  Rose-sachet.  Sachet-powder. 
Two  recipes  for  first-quality  cologne.  Two  recipes  for  second-quality 
cologne.  Thum's  cologne.  Farina-cologne.  Two  recipes  for  cologne. 
Graves's  white-rose  cologne.  Antiseptic  cologne.  White-rose  cologne. 
Christiani's  ammoniated  cologne.  Myrtle-cologne.  Narcissus-cologne. 
Pink-cologne.  Sweet-pea  cologne.  Polyanthus-cologne.  Toilet  prepara- 
tions. Antiseptic  solution.  Bay  rum.  Bleach  (Madame  Ruprpert's  face- 
bleach).  Two  recipes  for  blonde  powder.  Complexion-wash  (lait-vir- 
ginal).  Complexion-wash.  Dentifrice.  Tooth-powder  (quinine).  Denti- 
frice (antiseptic).  Dentifrice  (French).  Dentifrice  (camphor-chalk). 
Tooth-powder  (sepia).  Tooth-powder  (Peruvian  bark).  Tooth-powder 
(borax  and  myrrh).  Tooth-powder  (rose).  Dentifrice  (Reid's  antiseptic 
liquid).  Dentifrice  (Rushmere  antiseptic  liquid).  Dentifrice  (Rushmere 
liquid).  Tooth-powder  (Peruvian  bark).  Dentifrice  (East  India  liquid). 
Tooth-paste  (ruby).  Dentifrice  (tannin).  Tooth-paste  (soap-bark  and 
areca).  Dentifrice  (wild  cherry).  Cream  (antiseptic  dental).  Two  recipes 
for  emulsion  (rose).  Eyebrow-pencil.  Eye-wash.  Eye-lid  paste  (kohl). 
Two  recipes  fcr  glycerine-balsam.  Glycerine  fragrant  cream.  Glycerine- 
balsam.  Glycerine-lotion.  Glycerine-cream.  Glycerine  or  boroglyceride 
cream.  Glycerine-jelly  (plain).  Glycerine-jelly  (carbolated).  Glycerine- 
jelly  (solid).  Glycerine-lotion  (borated).  Glycerine-cream.  Glycerine 
cold  cream.  Hair-lotion  (quinine-and-glycerine).  Hair-oil  (lemon). 
Three  recipes  for  hair-lotion.  Hair-lotion  (quinine).  Hair-lotion  (crown). 
Hair-lotion  (quino-jaborandi).  Hair-curling  fluid.  Hair-lotion.  Lanolin- 
milk.  Four  recipes  for  lanolin-cream.  May-dew  milk.  Milk  of  elder- 
flowers.  Milk  of  dandelion.  Three  recipes  for  milk  of  bitter  almonds. 
Milk  of  cucumber.  Magnolia-balm.  Nail  and  lip  pomade  (rosaline). 
Mouth-wash  (disinfectant).  Mouth-wash  (horse-radish).  Mouth-wash 
(honey).  Mouth-wash  (mentholine).  Mouth-wash  (cosmos).  Mouth-wash 
(violet).  Five  recipes  for  mouth-wash.  Mouth-wash  (disinfectant).  Two 
recipes  for  perfumed  powder.  Violet-powder.  Rose-powder.  Pearl-pow- 
der. Face-powder  (white  rose).  Face-powder  (red  rose).  Face-powder 
(Cuban  belle).  Face-powder  (fleur-de-lya).  Face-powder  (Nile-lily). 
Face-powder  (rice).  White  complexion  powder.  Pink  complexion  pow- 
der. Face-powder  (swansdown).  Complexion-powder.  Hand-powder. 
Whitening  skin-powder.  Nail-powder.  Seven  recipes  for  infant-powder. 
Perfumed  talc.  Borated  talc.  Tannated  talc.  Salycilated  talc.  Carbo- 
lated talc.  Aromatic  vinegar.  Hygienic  vinegar.  Cosmetic  vinegar. 
Cologne-vinegar.  Toilet  vinegar.  De  Bully's  vinaigre-aromatique.  Wig- 
paste.  Baldness.  Boils.  Three  recipes  for  burns.  Carbuncle.  Chapped 
lips.  Cracks  or  fissures  of  hands,  feet,  and  lips.  Three  recipes  for 
chapped  hands.  Chapped  and  inflamed  hands.  Chapped  and  inflamed 
skin.  Corns  and  bunions.  Dandruff.  Dry  ekin.  Falling  of  hair. 
Freckles.  Freckles  or  liver-spots.  Freckles,  blackheads,  tan,  etc., 
Freckles  and  tan.  Two  recipes  for  frostbite.  Itching  of  the  skin. 
Itching  piles  or  haemorrhoids.  Mosquito-powder.  Oily  or  greasy  skin, 
especially  of  the  face.  Odorous  or  stinking  sweat,  especially  of  the  hands, 
feet,  armpits,  and  other  parts  of  the  body.  Pimples,  blotches,  tetter, 
and  irritation  of  the  skin.  Pimples  on  the  face.  Protection  against 
insect  bites.  Redness  of  skin,  sunburn,  chafing.  Red  nose  and  cheeks. 
Sores  or  ulcers  of  the  skin.  Stings  of  insects.  Stye-lot'on.  Sunburn. 
Sweating  of  bands,  feet,  and  other  parts  of  the  body.  Tetter.  Warts 
and  corns.  Wax  in  the  ear. 


INDEX    471 


HEALTH  AND  BEAUTY. 


CHAPTER     I. 
THE  SKIN  AND  COMPLEXION. 

THE  skin,  although  dense  and  firm,  is,  at  the  same  time,  a 
highly  elastic  membrane.  It  covers  and  protects  the 
parts  immediately  beneath  it,  and  is  effective  in  maintain- 
ing bodily  temperature  equably,  and  also  in  preventing  excessive 
evaporation  from  the  interior  of  the  body.  Were  it  not  for  the 
presence  of  the  skin,  the  loss  of  the  watery  constituents  of  the 
body  would  be  excessive,  its  tissues  would  dry  up,  their  vitality 
would  be  lost,  and  death  would  ensue.  So,  the  health  of  the 
skin  is  intimately  connected  with  the  health  of  the  general  sys- 
tem. On  the  other  hand,  the  normal  activity  of  the  body  is 
essential  to  the  proper  nutrition  and  activity  of  the  skin. 

The  nerves  that  enter  the  skin  terminate  in  bulbous  expan- 
sions, by  means  of  which  the  individual  is  brought  into  one 
relation  with  the  external  world,  that  through  the  sense  of 
touch.  The  skin  is  furnished  with  many  glands,  some  of  which 
render  it  soft  and  pliable,  while  others  remove  from  il^effete 
fluid  and  solid  matters  from  the  blood.  It  is  divided  into  various 
layers.  One  of  these  is  known  as  the  derma,  cutis  vera,  or  true 
skin.  Superposed  on  this  are  several  thin  layers,  known  collec- 
tively as  either  the  cuticle,  scarf-skin,  or  epidermis.  The  true 
skin  is  composed  of  a  substance  known  to  anatomists  as  connec- 
tive tissue,  because  of  its  function  of  binding  together  other 
parts,  as  demonstrable  by  examination  under  the  microscope. 
Connective  tissue  is  universally  distributed  throughout  the  body. 
But  it  is  modified  in  different  parts  as  to  its  structure,  so  as  to 
meet  different  conditions;  all  the  time,  however,  retaining  its 

(i) 


2  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

essential  characteristics  of  structure.  In  the  true  skin,  its  fibers 
are  so  disposed  as  to  form  little  bundles  crossing  one  another 
obliquely,  leaving  between  them  interstices  filled  with  a  soft, 
fatty  tissue,  constituting  the  site  of  little  blood-vessels,  glands, 
and  the  roots  of  hairs. 

It  is  now  generally  believed  by  physiologists,  that  some 
papillae,  or  little  protuberances  of  the  skin,  contain  nerve-fibrils 
devoted  exclusively  to  the  sensation  of  touch  and  recognition 
of  heat,  cold,  and  pain.  Other  papillae  contain,  instead  of  nerve- 
ends,  the  ends  of  blood-vessels.  The  blood-vessels  of  the  body, 
exclusive  of  the  skin,  have  no  termination;  they  begin  and  end 
at  the  heart.  The  system  prevails  throughout  the  body.  It  is 
essentially  the  same  in  bone,  brain,  and  all  internal  structures. 
Arteries  diminish  in  size  proportionately  to  their  distance 
from  the  heart  and  the  number  of  branches  given  off  by  them. 
Everywhere  they  are  continuous  with  veins  and  the  smallest  of 
blood-vessels,  known  as  capillaries,  because  they  are  hair-like 
in  size.  The  blood  from  the  head  and  upper  extremities  becomes 
impure  from  waste-products  of  the  body,  goes  to  the  right  side 
of  the  heart,  after  having  departed  from  the  left,  by  a  single 
large  blood-vessel;  and  that  from  the  exterior  and  interior 
of  the  body,  and  from  the  lower  limbs,  by  another  large  blood- 
vessel. Thence  it  passes  through  the  lungs  for  purification,  parts 
with  its  carbonic  acid,  returns  to  the  left  side  of  the  heart  as 
pure  arterial  blood,  and  again  continues  its  round  through  all 
parts  of  the  body.  Some  impurities,  however,  are  removed  by 
the  lungs,  liver,  kidneys,  and  skin. 

Papillae  are  especially  numerous  upon  those  portions  of  the 
skin  that  are  most  closely  connected  with  the  sensation  of  touch, 
as  on  the  tips  of  the  fingers,  the  palms  of  the  hands,  the  soles 
of  the  feet,  and  the  toes.  It  has  been  computed,  from  micro- 
scopic examination,  that,  in  some  of  these  situations,  there  are 
about  sixty  thousand  papillae  to  the  square  inch. 

In  addition  to  the  connective  tissue,  already  described,  is 
found  with  it  a  certain  amount  of  substance  known  as  yellow 


THE  SKIN   AND   COMPLEXION.  3 

elastic  tissue.  This  is  composed  of  fibers,  thicker  than  those  of 
connective  tissue,  having  a  faint  yellow  tint.  As  implied  by  its 
name,  this  tissue  serves  to  communicate  to  the  skin  a  notable 
elasticity. 

Muscular  fibers  are  also  present  in  the  skin.  Some  of  these 
lie  parallel  with,  and  others  obliquely  to,  the  surface.  These 
little  muscles  begin  near  the  upper  surface  of  the  true  skin  and 
pass  downward  to  the  hair-follicles,  the  bulbs  containing  the 
root  of  the  hair.  When  they  contract,  the  papillary  layer  of 
the  skin  is  pulled  downward;  the  hair-follicles  and  contained 
hairs  themselves  are  then  necessarily  forced  to  protrude  above 
the  surface.  So  comes  about  that  occasional  roughness  of  the 
skin,  known  as  goose-flesh,  produced  from  cold  or  from  fear. 
Referred  to  fear,  the  hair  is  said  to  stand  on  end.  Another  con- 
sequence of  the  action  of  the  cutaneous  muscular  fibers  may 
manifest  itself  in  the  compression  of  the  glands  of  the  skin, 
resulting  in  the  cold  sweat  of  fear. 

A  gland  is  an  aggregation  of  cells  which  has  the  power 
of  forming  from  the  blood-vessels  matter  known  as  secretion, 
or  of  modifying  the  constitution  of  the  blood.  The  skin  con- 
tains two  kinds  of  glands,  the  sebaceous,  or  oil-glands,  and  the 
sudoriparous  or  sweat-glands.  The  oil-glands  are  imbedded  in 
the  substance  of  the  skin.  They  are  present  in  most  parts 
of  the  surface  of  the  body,  but  there  are  regions  of  it  from  which 
they  are  absent,  the  palms  of  the  hands,  the  soles  of  the  feet, 
and  the  ends  of  the  fingers  and  toes.  They  are  particularly 
numerous  upon  the  hairy  portions  of  the  body,  consequently  very 
numerous  on  the  scalp. 

The  sudoriparous  or  sweat-glands  are  of  simpler  construc- 
tion than  are  the  oil-glands.  They  consist  of  twisted  tubes, 
situated  in  the  connective  tissue.  These  glands,  much  more 
numerous  on  some  portions  of  the  body  than  on  others,  are 
about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  length,  and  reach  the  surface  of 
the  skin  in  undulating  lines.  They  are  most  abundant  on  the 
palms  of  the  hands  and  soles  of  the  feet,  there  numbering  from 


4  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

twenty-five  hundred  to  three  thousand  to  the  square  inch; 
whereas,  upon  the  back,  the  skin  contains  only  about  four 
hundred  to  five  hundred  sweat-glands  to  the  square  inch.  It 
has  been  calculated  that  the  aggregate  length  of  these  glands 
on  the  human  body  is  over  nine  miles.  Both  sebaceous  and 
sudoriparous  glands  are  modified  in  structure  and  function  in 
certain  situations.  A  variety  of  the  sudoriparous  glands  is 
found  in  the  outer  passage  of  the  ear.  In  this  region  they  become 
ceruminous  glands,  that  is,  glands  secreting  and  excreting 
cerumen,  or  wax. 

The  lowest  stratum  of  the  scarf-skin  is,  owing  to  its  con- 
stitutional softness,  called  the  mucous  layer.  It  is  that  in  which 
the  coloring  matter  is  deposited.  The  color  of  all  races  of  man- 
kind depends  upon  the  character  and  amount,  of  the  granules  of 
pigment,  or  coloring  matter,  deposited  in  this  layer.  When  this 
cuticle  is  removed,  it  is  observable  that  even  the  color  of  the 
darkest  race,  the  negro,  is  just  like  that  of  the  white  races. 
Passing  by  the  two  layers  that  are  immediately  superposed  on 
the  mucous  layers,  the  fourth  layer  from  the  bottom,  that  is,  the 
surface  of  the  skin,  deserves  particular  mention.  It,  the  most 
superficial  of  all,  the  one  that  appeals  to  the  eye  with  fineness 
and  color,  consists  of  a  network  of  large,  dry,  hard,  closely  con- 
nected cells  or  scales.  When  they  reach  the  surface,  for  they 
are  generated  by  gradual  modification  from  below,  these  cells 
or  scales  have  lost  most  of  their  moisture  by  evaporation,  and 
have  also  undergone  chemical  changes  through  which  they  have 
been  converted  into  a  substance  similar  to  horn.  This  layer  is, 
therefore,  known  as  the  corneous,  or  horny,  layer  of  the  skin. 
The  horny  layer  of  the  scarf-skin  plays  the  most  prominent  part 
in  the  production  of  the  distinctive  characteristics  of  a  fine  skin. 
As  light  strikes  upon  its  surface,  the  rays  are  refracted  and 
reflected,  so  as  to  produce  what  we  know  as  brilliancy  of  com- 
plexion. 

The  scarf-skin  varies  in  thickness  in  different  parts  of  the 
body,  in  accordance  to  the  various  development  of  its  layers  in 


THE  SKIN   AND    COMPLEXION.  5 

those  situations.  It  is  thinnest  upon  the  lips  and  face  and  thickest 
upon  the  palms  of  the  hand  and  the  soles  of  the  feet.  The  horny 
layer  notably  varies  in  thickness  according  to  its  localities  on 
the  body.  The  development  of  the  horny  layer  does  not,  more- 
over, always  correspond  with  that  of  the  softer  layers  below. 
Habitual  manual  labor  thickens  and  hardens  this  outer  horny 
layer,  so  that  laborers  have  often  been,  in  strict  accuracy,  called 
horny-handed  sons  of  toil. 

The  true  skin  is  very  closely  associated  with  the  soft  tis- 
%sue  below  it,  called  subcutaneous  connective  tissue.  Connective 
tissue  has  been  here  already  sufficiently  noted  as  to  its  loose 
structure.  Subcutaneous  connective  tissue  is  still  more  loose  in 
structure,  its  meshes  are  larger  and  contain  more  fat  than  does 
the  connective  tissue.  Its  fat  is  particularly  abundant  in  certain 
situations.  It  is  more  developed  in  children  and  women  than  in 
men.  It  usually  diminishes  with  advance  of  age,  except,  of 
course,  in  persons  of  an  obese  tendency.  It  is  rapidly  lost  in 
severe  fevers  and  in  certain  other  wasting  diseases. 

The  structure  of  the  true  skin  differs  in  no  essential  particu- 
lar from  the  tissues  immediately  beneath  it.  They  all  blend 
imperceptibly  into  one  another,  showing  between  them  no  strict 
lines  of  demarcation.  The  outer  skin  may  therefore  be  justly 
regarded  as  a  special  modification  or  condensation  of  connective 
tissue.  Thus  modified,  it  finally  contains  muscular  and  elastic 
fibers  and  numerous  glands,  covered  with  a  protective  membrane 
furnished  with  hair  and  nails. 

The  mobility  of  the  skin  is  dependent  upon  the  size,  abun- 
dance, and  elasticity  of  the  underlying  fatty  meshes.  In  cer- 
tain situations,  as  around  joints,  where  mobility  of  the  skin  is 
indispensable,  the  connective  tissue  is  loose,  and  contains  but 
little  or  no  fat.  The  adaptation  of  the  skin  to  its  requirements 
is  well  expressed  in  the  words  of  the  ancient  physician,  Galen, 
who  wrote,  "Try  if  you  can  imagine  a  shoe  made  with  half  the 
skill  that  appears  in  the  skin  of  the  foot." 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE  APPENDAGES  OF  THE  SKIN. 

THE  hair  and  the  nails  are  appropriately  called  the  appendages 
of  the  skin,  because  they  are  merely  modifications  of  its 
uppermost  layer,  variously  called  the  epidermis,  the  scarf- 
skin,  and  cuticle.  The  cross-section  form  of  the  hair  varies  some- 
what among  different  races.  In  that  of  the  Caucasian  race  it  is  so 
slightly  oval  in  form  as  to  approach  the  circular.  Straight  hair 
is  indication  of  the  fact  that  the  tube  which  constitutes  a  hair 
has  everywhere  throughout  its  length  a  cross-section  of  the 
same  size  and  form.  The  crinkly  constitution  of  the  hair  of  the 
Negro  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  its  cross-section  varies  continu- 
ally through  its  length,  'causing  it  to  bend  sharply  on  itself 
throughout  its  course.  The  hair  of  the  Indian,  on  the  contrary, 
presents  the  opposite  appearance,  and  for  the  reason  already 
indicated,  that  its  cross-section  is  singularly  the  same  throughout 
its  whole  length.  What  is  here  said  is  clearly  indicated  by  the 
microscope,  which,  with  high  power  of  magnification,  exhibits 
not  only  this  feature  of  the  hair,  but  the  granules  of  pigment 
contained  in  its  tubes,  and  also  the  scales  in  it,  with  which  its 
surface  is  so  completely  covered  that  it  looks  as  if  carefully 
tiled. 

Hair-roots  are  lodged  in  bulbs  called  hair-follicles.  These, 
of  the  form  of  a  flask,  are  situated  obliquely  in  the  true 
skin.  At  the  bottom  of  the  hair-follicle  is  an  oval  body,  called 
the  hair  papilla,  which  is  the  germ  of  a  hair.  Its  structure  is 
identical  with  the  papillae  of  the  true  skin.  Hair,  as  well  as  the 
scarf-skin,  is  not  furnished  with  blood-vessels.  Its  nourish- 
ment is  derived  chiefly  from  the  capillaries  contained  in  the 
hair-papillae. 

A  hair  consists  of  a  free  portion,  called  the  shaft,  extending 
beyond  the  surface  of  the  skin;   an  embedded  portion,  or  root, 
(6) 


THE  APPENDAGES  OF  THE  SKIN.  7 

contained  within  the  hair-follicle;  and  an  expanded  portion, 
which  rests  upon  and  encloses  the  hair-papilla.  The  root  is 
formed  of  a  soft,  central  substance,  known  as  the  medullar,  or 
pithy,  and  an  outer  layer,  known  as  the  cortical,  or  corklike 
substance.  These  two,  in  turn,  are  enclosed  in  an  exquisitely  fine 
membrane,  known  as  the  cuticle  of  the  hair.  This  cuticle  is  com- 
posed of  a  single  layer  of  scales  slightly  overlapping  at  their 
edges,  and  presenting  the  appearance,  under  the  microscope, 
which  has  been  already  described. 

Hair  grows  upon  nearly  every  part  of  the  body,  the  excep- 
tions being  the  upper  part  of  the  eyelids,  the  lips,  the  palms  of 
the  hands,  the  soles  of  the  feet,  and  a  very  few  other  situations. 
The  hair  is,  especially  on  the  crown  of  the  head,  arranged  in 
spirals.  When  the  cross-sections  of  the  hairs  differ  through- 
out its  length,  they  will,  as  already  indicated,  be  curly  or  wavy. 
A  striking  instance  of  the  effect  of  climate  upon  hair  is  men- 
tioned by  Sir  Erasmus  Wilson,  taken,  as  follows,  from  Mr. 
St.  John's  "Travels  in  the  Valley  of  the  Nile :"  "The  effect  of 
the  climate  of  Egypt  upon  the  hair  is  remarkable.  My  own 
beard,  which,  in  Europe,  was  soft  and  silky,  and  almost  straight, 
began,  immediately  upon  my  arrival  at  Alexandria,  to  curl,  to 
grow  crisp,  strong,  and  coarse,  and  before  I  reached  El-Souan, 
resembled  horse-hair  to  the  touch,  and  was  all  disposed  in  ring- 
lets about  the  chin.." 

The  fact  is  that  hair  is  highly  hygroscopic;  that  is,  affect- 
able  by  moisture.  Every  hair-dresser  knows  this.  Mr.  St.  John 
experienced  a  singularly  dry  climate  on  the  occasion  mentioned. 
When  he  returned,  by  the  way  of  Malta,  his  curly  beard  resumed 
its  normal  state,  in  the  moist  air  of  the  Mediterranean. 

The  character  of  the  hair  evidently  depends  upon  climate. 
When  this  influence  has  been  asserted  through  thousands  of 
years,  its  type  becomes  established  as  one  of  the  characteristics 
of  race.  The  inhabitants  of  northern  climates  have  generally 
long,  straight  hair ;  those  of  southern  and  equatorial  ones,  wavy 
or  wooly  hair.  Associated  with  this  difference  of  condition  in 


8  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

hair  is  found  difference  in  pigmentary  constitution  in  it  and  in 
the  color  of  skin  and  eyes.  Northern  peoples,  as  compared  with 
southern  peoples,  are  relatively  blond.  Where  exceptions  are 
found,  it  is  doubtless  owing  to  racial  intermingling.  After  a 
few  crosses,  even  the  complexion  and  wool  of  the  negro  become, 
in  the  quadroon  and  octoroon,  almost  lost  to  sight. 

A  very  great  difference  exists  both  in  the  abundance  and 
the  nature  of  the  hair  among  different  races.  The  Malays  and 
the  American  Indians  are  distinguished  by  straight,  black,  coarse 
hair,  abundantly  growing  upon  the  top  of  the  head,  but  very 
scantily  upon  the  face.  Coarse,  black  hair,  however,  is  common 
to  the  Indians  of  North  and  South  America,  of  those  inhabiting 
cold,  temperate,  and  tropical  regions.  They  are  all,  probably, 
immigrants  from  the  Eastern  continent.  Microscopical  examin- 
ation has  shown  that  the  former  Indians  of  Mexico,  Central 
America,  and  Peru  had  the  same  kind  of  hair  that  the  North 
and  South  American  Indians  of  the  present  day  possess.  The 
natives  oi  Australia  have  either  straight  or  curly  hair.  A  strik- 
ing contrast  presents  itself  between  the  scanty  locks  of  the  Mon- 
golians and  the  hairiness  of  the  Ainos,  supposed  to  be  descend- 
ants of  the  indigenous  population  of  Japan.  The  Ainos  are  dis- 
tinguished for  their  hirsute  condition,  but  it  has  been  much 
exaggerated.  The  scalp  of  the  Bosjesman,  of  South  Africa, 
exhibits  the  peculiarity  of  being  covered  by  tufts  of  hair,  stand- 
ing apart  like  the  little  tussocks  in  a  marsh.  The  hair  is  wiry 
and  harsh  to  the  touch,  and  bristles  up  on  the  head  like  a  shoe- 
brush. 

When  the  hair  has  reached  the  natural  term  of  its  exist- 
ence, it  falls  out  of  the  sheath  formed  by  its  follicles,  and  one 
to  replace  it  immediately  sprouts  from  the  germ  of  the  papilla. 
The  thickness  of  the  hair  depends  upon  age  and  sex;  its  color, 
upon  health  and  cutting.  Repeated  cutting  increases  the  diameter 
of  hairs,  but  decreases  the  length  of  their  growth.  So  it  is, 
naturally,  in  the  process  of  dwarfing  plants.  Flaxen  hair  is 
the  finest,  and  black  hair  the  coarsest  of  all  in  constitution.  The 


THE  APPENDAGES   OF   THE   SKIN.  9 

usual  term  of  the  hair's  extreme  growth  in  length  is  from 
two  to  six  years.  Including  both  sexes,  the  length  attained  is 
from  twenty  to  thirty-six  inches.  There  are,  however,  cases  in 
the  female  sex  where  the  length  attained  is  between  five  and 
six  feet.  The  beard  grows,  on  the  average,  at  the  rate  of  six 
and  one-half  inches  per  year. 

The  color  of  the  hair  depends  upon  the  character  and  amount 
of  the  pigment  deposited  in  the  tubes  which  constitute  its  shafts. 
White  hair  is  destitute  of  coloring  matter.  Grayness  of  hair 
is  produced  by  the  presence  in  hair-shafts  of  bubbles  of  air.  The 
elasticity  of  hair  is  one  of  its  remarkable  characteristics.  It 
can  be  stretched  with  care  to  considerably  more  than  its  normal 
length.  If  the  tension  be  not  maintained  too  long,  it  will,  more- 
over, afterwards  contract  to  nearly  its  former  length.  The  num- 
ber of  hairs  on  the  head  varies  indefinitely.  Some  examinations 
have  placed  them  from  eighty  thousand  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  in  number.  The  hair  is  highly  susceptible  to  the 
influence  of  static  electricity.  In  a  dry  climate,  friction  will  pro- 
duce in  the  hair  a  crackling  sound.  Indeed,  in  a  dry  time,  in  an 
ordinary  climate,  this  effect  is  frequently  seen  in  combing  the 
hair,  when  it  is  also  observed  to  tend  to  stand  on  end. 

The  covering  of  the  finger-  and  toe-tips,  which  \ve  call  nails, 
is  formed  of  dense,  horny  plates.  It  grows  out  of  a  source 
called  the  matrix,  and  is  lodged,  at  the  back  and  sides,  in  a  fold 
of  the  skin  called  the  nail-groove.  The  depth  of  this  groove  is 
about  the  twelfth  of  an  inch  for  the  most  of  the  fingers  and 
toes,  an  eighth  of  an  inch  for  the  thumb,  and  a  sixth  of  an  inch 
for  the  great  toe.  The  groove  is  deeper  at  the  back  than  in 
front.  The  part  of  the  nail  that  is  contained  in  the  groove  is 
called  the  root,  the  surface  upon  which  the  nail  rests  is  called 
the  bed.  The  whitish  half-moon  at  the  base  of  the  nail  is  called 
the  lunula,  or  little  moon. 

The  nail  is  nourished  chiefly  by  its  matrix,  but  also  by  its 
bed,  and  as  it  pushes  forward  with  growth,  it  becomes  thicker 
and  thicker  as  it  approaches  its  free  edge. 


IO  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

The  nails  grow  more  rapidly  in  summer  than  in  winter,  and 
in  childhood  than  in  old  age.  The  time  requiied  for  the  growth 
of  the  thumb-nail  from  the  matrix  to  the  free  edge  is  about 
five  months.  It  takes  about  four  times  as  long  for  the  great-toe 
nail  to  attain  its  full  length.  The  white  spots  sometimes 
observed  upon  the  finger-nails  are  indicative  of  blows  which  have 
affected  injuriously  the  nourishment  of  the  structure.  Trans- 
verse grooves  in  the  nails  are  produced  by  fevers  and  other  seri- 
ous illnesses. 

A  severe  blow  on  a  nail  may  cause  it  to  become  dark,  and 
eventually  to  fall  off,  wholly  or  in  part.  If  the  matrix  has  not 
been  seriously  injured,  a  perfect  nail  will,  in  this  case,  be  eventu- 
ally produced,  but  when  the  matrix  has  been  actually  destroyed, 
the  nail  cannot  be  regenerated.  The  nail  has  the  appearance, 
upon  critical  examination,  of  being  composed,  as  it  really  is, 
of  alternate  columns,  red  and  white  in  aspect.  The  forms  of 
these  correspond  with  longitudinal  depressions  of  the  nail-bed, 
the  latter  with  the  ridges  of  the  nail-bed.  "The  quick"  of  the 
nail,  as  it  is  popularly  called,  is  the  nail-bed,  so  known  on  account 
of  its  exquisite  sensitiveness. 

The  nail  is  translucent,  and  for  that  reason  is  of  a  rosy 
appearance  when  the  Wood  of  the  bed  is  rich  and  abundant. 
When  the  blood  becomes  thin,  in  consequence  of  any  disease,  or 
of  a  low  state  of  the  system,  the  nail  becomes  pallid.  The  white 
color  of  the  lunula  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  capillary  blood- 
vessels are  less  abundant  there  than  elsewhere  in  the  bed  of  the 
nail.  In  a  state  of  perfect  health,  the  nails  tend  to  be  beautifully 
smooth  and  rosy.  Both  color  and  luster  are  either  impaired  or 
destroyed  by  many  diseases. 

The  likeness  of  the  scarf-skin  to  horn  (for  the  nails,  as 
has  been  said,  are  but  a  modification  of  the  scarf-skin)  is  well 
exemplified  both  in  its  chemical  constitution  and  consistency. 
Horn  contains  a  good  deal  of  sulphur,  and  burning  nails  emit 
a  very  suggestive  odor  of  that  substance.  The  longitudinal 
folds  of  the  nail-bed  correspond  with  the  papillae  of  the  true 


THE  APPENDAGES  OF  THE  SKIN.  II 

skin.  As  the  nails  grow  in  length,  they  increase  also  in  thick- 
ness, by  the  addition  of  cells  derived  from  the  nail-bed. 

The  free  borders  of  the  nails  require  continual  trimming 
with  knife  and  scissors,  and  the  thin  layer  of  scarf-skin  which 
is  dragged  forward  by  their  growth  upon  the  lunula,  should,  at 
the  same  time,  be  removed  by  pressing  it  back  towards  the  roots 
of  the  nails;  it  should  never  be  cut  off.  The  surface  of  the 
nails  should  never  be  cleaned  with  anything  harsher  than  the 
nail-brush. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  here  to  mention  the  desirability  of 
constant  care  of  the  nails,  in  order  to  prevent  the  accumulation 
of  foreign  matters  beneath  their  ends ;  "wearing  them  in  mourn- 
ing," as  it  has  been  appropriately  called.  Neglect  in  keeping 
them  nicely  trimmed,  cleaned,  and  polished  gives  the  hand  the 
appearance  of  a  most  unsightly  claw.  Strange  though  it  seems 
to  us  now,  yet  the  Roman  Emperor,  known  as  Julian,  the  Apos- 
tate, actually  rebuked  the  prevalent  foppery  of  his  day  by  his 
own  evil  practice  of  neglect  in  the  particular  just  mentioned. 
Says  Gibbon,  the  historian,  "In  a  satirical  performance,  the 
emperor  dwelt  with  pleasure,  and  even  with  pride,  on  the  length 
of  his  nails  and  the  inky  blackness  of  his  hands." 

A  habit  which  is  utterly  destructive  of  the  beauty,  and  par- 
tially of  the  usefulness,  of  the  nails,  is  that  of  biting  them.  The 
habit  is  most  common  among  persons  of  a  highly  nervous  tem- 
perament. These  easily  acquire  the  habit  in  moments  of  anxiety, 
perplexity,  or  distraction  while  reading.  Bitten  to  the  quick, 
with  ragged  shreds  of  skin  surrounding  them,  as  is  usually  the 
case,  the  nails,  which,  well  shaped  and  cared  for,  crown  the 
beauty  of  a  well-shaped  hand,  make  it  wholly  unpresentable. 
This  habit,  like  all  others,  good  or  bad,  is  difficult  to  break,  but 
it  can  be  done  under  the  influence  of  resolution  supported  by 
mortification  from  the  knowledge  of  how  all  the  refined  world 
regards  the  practice.  Comely  young  girls  have  been  known  to 
say  that  they  could  not  stop  it.  Ah,  if  they  had  but  been  aware 
how  it  depreciated  their  value  in  the  eyes  of  the  opposite  sex ! 


12  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

The  healthy,  rosy  hue  in  the  nails  makes  them  beautiful. 
The  reddish  stain,  however,  with  which  the  professional  mani- 
curist sometimes  bedecks  them,  being  a  hue  unnatural  to  them, 
gives  an  unpleasing  effect  to  the  cultivated  eye.  It  reminds  one 
of  the  prevalent  custom  throughout  Asia,  of  staining  the  finger- 
nails and  finger-tips  with  an  orange-colored  paste,  called  henna. 
The  practice  seems  to  have  been  common  in  the  East  from  the 
remotest  period  known.  Perfect  nails,  those  inclining  to  filbert- 
shape,  and  to  rosiness  in  hue,  add  greatly  to  the  beauty  of  sym- 
metrical hands,  although  they  have  been  less  discussed  in 
poetry,  romance,  and  daily  life,  than  the  feminine  crown  of 
glory  in  profuse  hair.  Among  the  Romans,  the  free  edge  of  the 
nail  became  the  criterion  of  smoothness.  If  it  be  pushed  across 
any  surface,  such  as  that  of  a  piece  of  sculpture,  it  detects  the 
slightest  roughness.  Hence  they  spoke  of  a  thing's  being  ad' 
imguem  (true  to  the  nail)  when  it  reached  perfection. 


CHAPTER     III. 
THE  USEFULNESS  OF  THE  SKIN  AND  OF  THE  HAIR. 


uses  of  the  skin  are  various.     Some  depend  upon  the 
skin  as  a  whole,  others  upon  the  true  skin,  others  upon  the 
scarf-skin,  while  others,  again,  are  referable  to  the  fatty 
tissue  below  the  skin.     The  use  of  the  true  skin,  as  being  the 
most  important  of  all,  will  be  first  considered  here. 

Just  as  the  scarf-skin  is  exactly  fitted  upon  the  upper  sur- 
face of  the  true  skin,  so  the  latter  is  closely  associated  with  the 
parts  beneath  it,  and  adapts  itself  perfectly  to  their  movements. 
The  elastic  and  firm  true  skin,  and  the  pad  of  fat  upon  which  it 
rests,  afford  great  protection  against  blows  and  falls.  Their 
resistant  power  is  well  exemplified,  for  example,  in  the  impunity 
with  which  the  base-ball  is  caught.  If  imperfectly  received,  how- 
ever, its  impact  may  cause  a  dislocation  or  fracture  of  bones. 
This  same  protective  property  permits  us  to  stand  or  to  walk 
for  hours,  without  harm  to  the  sole  of  the  foot.  One  of  the 
most  conclusive  evidences  of  the  fact  of  the  elasticity  of  the 
skin  is  that  bones  are  sometimes  broken,  or  internal  organs  rup- 
tured, by  injuries  that  do  not  lacerate  the  skin.  Dr.  P.  S.  Con- 
ner, of  Cincinnati,  wrote,  in  an  article  upon  gun-shot  wounds, 
referring  to  the  Crimean  war:  "Macleod,  for  example,  reports 
that  at  the  Alma,  a  round-shot,  en  ricochet,  struck  the  scale  from 
an  officer's  shoulder  and  merely  grazed  his  head  as  it  ascended. 
Death  was  instantaneous.  The  scalp  was  found  to  be  almost 
uninjured,  but  so  completely  smashed  was  the  skull,  that  its 
fragments  rattled  within  the  scalp  as  if  loose  in  a  bag." 

The  temperature  of  the  body  tends  to  be  kept  at  the  proper 
standard  for  health  by  the  presence  and  action  of  the  skin. 
Bodily  heat  is  generated  by  the  various  chemical  and  vital  pro- 
cesses constantly  going  on  in  all  parts  of  the  frame.  The  skin, 
being  a  poor  conductor  of  heat,  may  be  likened  to  a  screen 

(13) 


14  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

interposed  between  the  interior  of  the  body  and  the  outer  world. 
This  screen  keeps  the  heat  'formed  within  the  body  from  being 
too  rapidly  dissipated.  On  the  other  hand,  it  tends  to  prevent 
external  heat  from  raising  the  temperature  of  the  body  to  a 
dangerous  point.  The  natural  temperature  of  the  outside  of  the 
body  is  ninety-eight  and  a  half  degrees,  Fahrenheit.  The  tem- 
perature of  the  blood  and  the  inner  organs  somewhat  exceeds  this 
degree.  The  average  heat  of  the  blood  is  about  one  hundred 
degrees,  Fahrenheit,  subject  to  slight  variations  at  different 
times  and  in  different  parts  of  the  body. 

The  principal  sources  of  animal  heat  are  muscular  and 
glandular  activity.  Heat  is  one  of  several  modes  of  motion, 
convertible  into  other  forms  of  motion.  Therefore,  when  heat 
is  converted  into  energy,  it,  for  the  time  being,  disappears  as 
recognizable  heat.  As  heat  is  lost,  it  is,  of  course,  continuously 
reproduced.  So  admirable  are  the  physical  adaptations  to  con- 
ditions, that  the  temperature  of  man  differs  but  slightly  in  the 
arctic  and  the  torrid  zones. 

Let  us  examine  the  mechanism  by  which  this  wonderful  bal- 
ance tends  to  be  maintained.  It  is  evident  that  the  blood  con- 
tained in  the  capillary  vessels  of  the  skin  is  in  much  closer  prox- 
imity to  the  atmosphere  than  is  that  which  circulates  in  the 
large  and  deeper  vessels.  It  follows,  therefore,  that,  although 
the  skin  is  an  imperfect  conductor  of  heat,  a  certain  portion  of 
it  must  be  dissipated  by  weather  conditions.  When  the  tem- 
perature is  high,  approximating  or  exceeding  that  of  the  body, 
the  skin  becomes  relaxed  and  its  blood-vessels  expanded.  The 
presence  of  elastic  and  muscular  tissue  renders  it  easily  capable 
of  expansion  and  contraction,  and  the  elastic  character  of  the 
blood-vessels  renders  them  capable  of  change  in  caliber.  If  the 
atmosphere  be  lower  in  temperature  than  that  of  the  blood, 
some  of  the  body's  heat  is  dissipated  by  radiation,  precisely  as  is 
that  of  any  inanimate  object  placed  in  the  open  air.  But,  if  the 
heat  of  the  atmosphere  be  above  that  of  the  body,  it  is  mani- 
fest that  it  will  gain  in  heat  instead  of  losing  it.  When  the 


USEFULNESS   OF   THE   SKIN    AND    HAIR.  15 

activities  of  the  body  are  so  disarranged  that  heat  in  it  is  pro- 
duced more  rapidly  than  radiated,  illness  ensues.  A  permanent 
increase  of  ten  degrees  Fahrenheit  in  the  temperature  of  the  body 
is  incompatible  with  continued  life. 

What,  then,  is  the  method  by  which  the  body  is  maintained 
at  what  we  call  its  normal  temperature?  It  is  by  the  conver- 
sion of  heat  into  energy  as  manifested  in  work,  and  the  special 
work  by  which  heat  is  extracted  from  the  body  lies  in  the  pro- 
duction and  evaporation  of  perspiration.  The  office  belongs  to 
the  sudoriparous  or  sweat-glands,  and  they,  like  all  other  glands, 
tend  to  be  in  constant  activity.  Perspiration  is  either  sensible 
or  insensible.  At  all  times,  even  in  the  pleasantest  and  most 
equable  temperature,  the  body  is  giving  off  heat  by  means  of 
insensible  perspiration.  Under  the  opposite  condition,  it  pours 
from  the  sweat-glands  profusely.  As  heat  is  used  in  evaporating 
perspiration  in  either  form,  it  is  converted  into  what  is  termed 
"latent  heat,"  that  is,  heat  engaged  in  the  performance  of  work, 
and  whilst  thus  engaged  is  not  perceptible  in  its  own  usually 
observed  quality. 

The  air  always  contains  some  watery  vapor.  The  higher 
the  temperature,  the  more  watery  vapor  is  the  air  able  to 
absorb.  With  every  increase  of  twenty-seven  degrees,  Fahren- 
heit, above  the  freezing  point  of  water,  the.  capacity  of  the  air 
to  receive  a  watery  vapor  is  doubled.  When  there  is  much  mois- 
ture in  the  air  at  a  high  temperature,  the  sense  of  discomfort 
greatly  exceeds  that  experienced  at  the  same  temperature  when 
the  air  is  comparatively  dry.  This  is  because  the  evaporation 
of  perspiration  is  then  slow,  and  its  cooling  effect  thus  lessened. 
When,  on  the  contrary,  the  temperature  of  the  air  is  low,  but 
it  is  at  the  same  time  laden  with  as  much  watery  vapor  as  it 
will  hold,  the  heat  of  the  body  is  rapidly  radiated,  as  everyone 
must  have  noticed  by  fingers  tingling  with  cold  at  a  tempera- 
ture by  no  means  so  low  as  when  the  atmosphere  has  been  cold, 
but  relatively  dry. 

This  provision  of  nature  for  the  body's  regulation  of  heat 


1 6  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

enables  man  to  endure  hot  climates  as  well  as  cold  ones.  It 
permits  workmen  to  endure,  for  long  periods,  an  exceedingly  hot 
atmosphere  in  machine-shops  and  on  steamships.  Dry  air  has 
been  borne  for  from  eight  to  ten  minutes  at  a  temperature  ranging 
from  two  hundred  to  two  hundred  and  seventy,  Fahrenheit.  The 
amount  of  perspiration  poured  out  under  these  circumstances  has 
been  known  to  amount  to  from  one  to  four  pounds  in  an  hour. 
A  case  is  on  record  of  a  girl  who  remained  for  several  minutes, 
without  any  ill  effect,  in  an  oven  where  the  temperature  was 
three  hundred  and  twenty-five,  Fahrenheit.  Men  have  become 
used  to  entering  furnaces  for  drying  moulds,  where  the  ther- 
mometer ranged  from  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  to  four 
hundred,  Fahrenheit.  A  person  who  called  himself  the  "fire- 
king"  was  once  in  the  practice  of  exposing  himself  for  a  short 
time  to  a  temperature  of  from  four  hundred  to  six  hundred, 
Fahrenheit.  But  in  all  these  cases  the  air  was  dry,  and  the 
amount  of  perspiration  so  enormous  as  to  render  the  exposure 
possible. 

The  depressing  effect  of  moist  heat  is  strikingly  shown  in 
the  description,  given  by  a  French  physician,  of  life  in  Tonquin. 
He  says  "drowsiness  is  unintermitting.  The  skin  is  constantly 
covered  with  perspiration,  and,  spite  of  drowsiness,  sound  sleep 
can  be  obtained  only  after  repeated  cold  baths."  Our  own  offi- 
cers of  the  navy  can  feelingly  testify  to  their  experience  of  heat 
when  on  the  Samoan  Islands  station.  Extreme  heat  produces  a 
rapid,  tumultuous,  and  irregular  action  of  the  heart.  The 
respiration  is  proportionately  quickened,  the  blood-vessels  of  the 
various  organs  are  distended,  and  the  secretions  are  either 
diminished  or  suppressed.  Chemical  changes  in  the  principal 
solid  tissues  and  in  the  blood  take  place,  incompatible  with 
prolonged  life. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  effect  of  cold  upon  the  higher 
animal  life.  Contact  with  a  cold  atmosphere  causes  the  skin 
to  shrink.  Its  muscular  fibers  react  in  response  to  lowering 
temperature.  As  the  skin  contracts,  the  blood  is  expressed  from 


USEFULNESS   OF   THE   SKIN    AND   HAIR.  1 7 

it  and  driven  to  deeper  parts  of  the  body.  Much  less  blood  being 
present  in  the  superficial  vessels,  much  less  heat  exists  in  the 
skin.  The  glands  of  the  skin  are  comparatively  inactive.  Little 
perspiration  is  produced,  and  that  little  immediately  evaporated. 
Muscular  exertion  is  stimulated,  and  the  result  of  its  exercise 
is  an  increase  in  the  body's  consumption  of  oxygen  and  excre- 
tion of  carbonic  acid  gas,  the  effete  matter  of  the  system.  Thus 
the  body  is  heating  itself.  Arctic  explorers  experience  tempera- 
tures of  from  fifty-five  to  seventy  degrees,  Fahrenheit,  below 
zero.  In  the  frigid  regions,  near  the  pole,  the  Eskimo  manage 
to  exist.  Their  exercise  and  fatty  food  generate  heat.  Their 
furs  and  close  dwellings  economize  it. 

Knowledge  of  the  degree  previously  mentioned  as  the 
healthy  or  normal  degree  of  heat  for  the  human  body  is  obtained 
by  placing  the  bulb  of  a  specially  constructed  thermometer  in 
the  mouth.  The  heat  of  the  interior  of  the  body  is  thus  obtained. 
As,  however,  the  skin,  even  when  clothed,  is  somewhat  in  con- 
tact with  the  atmosphere,  it  must  part  with  some  of  its  special 
heat.  Different  regions  of  the  skin  have,  in  fact,  different  tem- 
peratures. The  touch  of  the  hand  informs  us  that  the  usual 
temperature  of  the  skin  of  the  forehead  is  higher  than  that  of 
the  skin  of  the  feet.  The  temperature  of  those  parts  of  the  body 
usually  clothed  is  slightly  higher  than  that  of  the  parts  usually 
exposed.  The  face  is  generally  half  a  degree  warmer  than 
the  covered  parts  of  the  body.  The  temperature  over  great 
blood-vessels  and  over  bulky  muscular  masses  is  greater  than 
over  different  formations  of  the  body. 

The  perspiration  serves  another  useful  purpose  besides  that 
of  removing  heat  from  the  body  and  cooling  it  by  evaporation. 
It  is  one  of  the  means  by  which  harmful  agents  are  removed 
from  the  system.  The  manifold  processes  of  life  cannot  pro- 
ceed without  constant  destruction  of  effete  matter,  as  well  as 
of  generation  of  new.  The  activity  of  the  various  organs 
brings  about  constant  change  in  their  tissue.  As  the  result  of  this 
change,  chemical  substances  pass  into  the  blood  which  are  really 

2 


1 8  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

waste  products,  from  which  the  system  must  be  cleansed.  They 
are  often,  in  fact,  of  a  distinctively  poisonous  character.  Some 
of  them  are  removed  by  the  perspiration. 

The  story  has  often  been  told  of  the  young  girl  who,  in  one 
of  the  triumphal  processions  of  the  French  Revolution,  was 
gilded  to  represent  some  mythical  figure.  Thus  exposed  for 
hours,  coated  with  an  impermeable  skin,  perspiration  was  sup- 
pressed and  death  ensued.  Death  follows,  in  from  six  to  twelve 
hours,  the  application  of  varnish  to  the  skin  of  one  of  the  lower 
animals.  Extensive  burns  on  the  skin  are  fatal  because,  exclu- 
sive of  the  pain  and  nervous  shock  produced  by  them,  the  excre- 
tory function  of  the  skin  where  they  lie  has  ceased.  When  burns 
involve  more  than  one-third  of  the  general  surface  of  the  body, 
the  death  of  the  patient  is  inevitable. 

In  certain  morbid  conditions  of  the  body,  perspiration  is 
immensely  increased,  diminished,  suppressed,  or  variously  altered 
in  composition.  In  some  cases,  it  is  freely  produced  on  one 
side  of  the  body,  while  the  other  remains  perfectly  dry.  A 
strange  phenomenon,  in  some  cases,  presents  itself  in  the  altera- 
tion of  the  color  of  perspiration.  It  may  be  changed  to  green, 
blue,  red,  brown,  or  black.  Some  of  these  changes  are  caused 
by  its  absorption  of  substances  previously  absorbed  by  the  blood 
from  the  intestinal  canal.  The  color  of  red  perspiration  is  owing 
to  the  presence  in  it  of  a  certain  microbe.  Some  diseases  of  the 
nervous  system  are  occasionally  associated  with  the  escape, 
through  the  sweat-glands,  of  a  liquid  containing  blood. 

The  natural  lubricant  of  the  skin  is  called  sebum,  matter 
of  an  oily  character,  secreted  and  excreted  by  the  sebum  glands ; 
that  is,  formed  there  and  expelled  thence.  It  renders  the  skin 
.soft  and  pliable.  It  also  acts  protectively  to  the  skin  in  extremes 
of  heat  and  cold.  It  is  particularly  abundant  upon  those  parts 
which  are  exposed  to  great  fluctuations  of  temperature,  the 
nose,  the  ears,  the  face  generally.  As  a  lubricant,  it  serves  a 
useful  purpose  at  the  joints,  preventing  chafing.  It  communi- 
cates gloss  and  pliability  to  hair,  and  aids  its  growth  and  preser- 
vation. 


USEFULNESS   OF   THE   SKIN   AND   HAIR.  19 

The  skin  has  hitherto  been  considered  as  an  organ  that  pro- 
duces and  gives  out  matter.  But  it  is  also  capable  of  absorbing 
matter.  The  matters  which  chiefly  enter  the  skin  are  water,  vapor 
of  water,  and  oxygen  gas.  The  proof  that  even  water  can  enter 
the  skin  is  constituted  by  gain  in  the  human  body's  weight,  and 
relief  from  thirst,  after  immersion  in  water,  or  even  after 
exposure  to  the  vapor  of  water.  Dr.  James  Currie,  an  eminent 
English  physician  of  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century,  relates 
the  case  of  a  patient  who  was  unable  to  swallow  either  solid 
or  liquid  food,  and  who  was  kept  alive  by  nutritive  injections 
and  immersion  in  milk  and  water  baths.  Oleaginous  substances 
have  the  power  of  penetrating  the  skin,  and  physicians  are  daily 
in  the  practice  of  making  use  of  them  in  the  case  of  infants  and 
little  children  whose  nutrition  is  imperfect.  It  has  been  found 
that  cod-liver  oil,  rubbed  into  places  where  the  skin  is  thinnest, 
is  readily  absorbed  by  the  blood-vessels,  and  its  administration 
through  the  stomach  avoided.  Ointments  containing  medicinal 
substances  are  similarly  employed  by  physicians  of  the  present 
day. 

Respiration,  although,  of  course,  to  a  very  limited  degree, 
takes  place  through  the  skin.  The  essential  characteristic  of 
breathing  is  the  absorption  of  oxygen  and  the  elimination  of 
carbonic  acid  gas.  This,  as  the  main  process,  does  not  take  place 
through  the  skin,  but  through  the  lungs.  The  capacity,  however, 
which  the  skin  possesses  in  the  same  direction,  in  a  limited 
degree,  is  useful  on  occasions  of  unusual  physical  exertion. 
Horse-dealers  know  that  when  the  skin  of  a  horse  has  a  rosy 
hue,  the  animal  is  likely  to  have  both  speed  and  bottom.  This 
is  because  the  capillary  circulation  is  active  and  the  action  of 
the  lungs  is  assisted  by  that  of  the  skin. 

The  skin  is  of  inestimable  importance  as  the  organ  of  sen- 
sation by  which  we  become  acquainted  with  some  of  the  physical 
properties  of  the  external  world.  It  performs  this  office,  of 
course,  by  means  of  its  terminal  nerves.  Nerves  are  broadly 
divided  for  our  conception  of  them  into  nerves  of  sensation  and 


2O  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

nerves  of  motion.  The  former  terminate  in  surfaces  which  may 
receive  the  impression  of  pain,  of  temperature,  or  of  mere  resist- 
ance. These  nerves  are  distributed  to  all  the  tissues.  Even  the 
most  insensitive  tissues  are  susceptible  to  pain.  The  nerves, 
however,  that  are  distinguished  as  motor  nerves,  penetrate  the 
muscles  for  the  purpose  of  exciting  them  to  action.  If  a  motor 
nerve  distributed  to  a  certain  muscle  be  divided,  that  muscle 
cannot  contract,  that  is,  act,  for  it  is  paralyzed.  Similarly,  if  a 
nerve  of  sensation  that  supplies  a  certain  tract  of  skin  be  divided, 
loss  of  sensibility  results. 

Motor  nerves  descend  from  the  brain  through  the  front  part 
of  the  spinal  cord.  Sensory  nerves  ascend  to  the  brain  through 
the  posterior  portion  of  the  spinal  cord.  The  province  of  the 
sensory  nerves  is  to  report  sensations  to  the  brain.  The  skin 
is  necessarily  the  tissue  in  which  the  sensory  nerves  are  most 
abundant.  They  begin  in  peculiar  bulbous  expansions  situated 
in  papillae.  It  is  in  expansion*  of  nerve-fibers  that  impressions  are 
received  from  the  outer  world.  The  impression  is  transmitted 
along  the  trunk  of  the  corresponding  nerve  to  the  brain,  where  it 
becomes  a  specialized  perception. 

The  sensibility  of  the  skin  varies  in  quality.  The  most 
important  variety  of  it  is  tactile  sensibility,  the  special  sense 
of  touch  in  the  hand.  By  the  exercise  of  this  we  become 
acquainted  with  certain  properties  of  matter,  as  hardness,  soft- 
ness, roughness,  smoothness,  extension,  etc.  The  impressions 
from  the  sense  of  sight  are  by  it  modified.  As  in  the  case  of 
other  faculties,  the  sense  of  touch  is  capable  of  a  high  degree 
of  development.  The  most  conspicuous  instance  of  the  high 
development  of  tactile  sensibility  is  among  the  blind.  Professor 
Saunderson,  who  taught  mathematics  at  Cambridge,  during  the 
early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  lost  his  sight  from  small- 
pox when  he  was  about  a  year  old.  He,  however,  received  a  good 
classical  and  mathematical  education,  and  manifested  a  special 
liking  for  the  study  of  mathematics.  His  sense  of  touch  was 
extremely  delicate.  He  could  perfectly  distinguish  not  only 


USEFULNESS   OF   THE   SKIN    AND   HAIR.  21 

ordinary  money,  but  could  recognize  Roman  coins  and  medals, 
distinguishing  spurious  from  genuine  ones  more  easily  than 
many  persons  could,  endowed  with  sight.  Dr.  Carpenter,  the 
physiologist,  mentions  the  case  of  a  blind  friend  of  his  who  had 
acquired  comprehensive  knowledge  of  conchology,  both  fossil 
and  recent,  and  who  was  able  not  only  to  recognize  numerous 
specimens  from  his  own  cabinet,  but  to  discover  the  closest 
alliances  of  a  shell,  previously  unknown  to  him,  after  having 
thoroughly  examined  it  by  touch. 

The  blind  are  able  to  familiarize  themselves  with  the  faces 
of  strangers  by  passing  their  fingers  over  the  unknown  features. 
So  precise  is  the  knowledge  thus  acquired,  and  so  tenacious  their 
retention  of  it,  that  they  can  recognize  persons  whom  they  have 
not  met  for  a  long  time.  The  celebrated  Laura  Bridgman  lost 
sight  and  hearing  when  she  was  but  three  years  of  age,  and  was 
also  deficient  in  the  senses  of  taste  and  smell.  She  was,  however, 
gifted  with  a  fine  mind.  Her  education,  undertaken  by  Dr. 
Howe,  necessarily  depended  entirely  upon  her  sensitiveness  in 
touch  and  to  being  touched.  She  learned  to  recognize  persons 
by  touching  them,  and  could  remember  them  for  an  indefinite 
time  afterwards.  She  was  sometimes  able  to  detect  the  relation- 
ship of  sisters  in  the  same  manner.  A  Dr.  Kitto  relates  the 
case  of  an  Italian  who  lost  his  sight  when  twenty  years  of  age. 
He  had  previously  manifested  no  taste  for  sculpture,  and  for  ten 
years  after  the  beginning  of  his  affliction  remained  entirely 
ignorant  of  that  art.  At  the  end  of  that  period,  however,  he 
having,  in  the  meantime,  educated  his  tactile  sensibility,  began  to 
take  an  interest  in  statuary.  He  then  began  to  reproduce  in 
clay  models  from  works  of  art  which  he  had  carefully  studied 
by  feeling.  Soon  thereafter,  becoming  expert  in  knowledge  of 
form,  he  learned  to  reproduce  his  clay  models  in  marble,  and 
eventually  was  able  to  make  statues  from  the  living  human 
subject. 

The  strangest  circumstance  in  connection  with  the  condi- 
tion of  the  blind  is  that  they  are  sometimes  able  to  distinguish 


22  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

the  color  of  surfaces.  At  the  first  blush,  this  seems,  to  the 
unscientific,  incredible.  But  it  is  not,  when  one  comes  to  know 
that  the  color  of  an  object  depends  upon  the  reflection  to  the 
eye  of  a  predominant  ray  of  the  prismatic  colors.  Surfaces  must 
be  (we  know  that  they  are,  for,  otherwise,  they  would  all  be 
of  the  same  tint)  differently  affected  by  this  selective  characteris- 
tic of  light.  Therefore,  the  exquisite  sensitiveness  of  touch 
among  some  of  the  blind  is  able  to  detect  the  peculiarity  of  sur- 
face which  is  associated  with  a  certain  color,  and  no  other.  It 
stands  to  reason,  however,  that  such  surfaces  must  always  be 
smooth.  An  interesting  example  of  this  ability  among  a  select 
number  of  the  blind  is  given  by  Dr.  Kitto.  He  says,  in  hi's  work 
on  "The  Lost  Senses:"  "A  family  tailor,  in  the  Scotch  High- 
lands, was  blind  during  the  last  fifteen  years  of  his  life.  Never- 
theless, he  continued  to  work  at  his  trade,  and  could  execute  his 
tasks  as  well  as,  though  less  rapidly  than,  before  his  loss  of  sight. 
Garments  of  tartan  plaid  are  difficult  to  make,  even  by  those  who 
have  the  use  of  their  eyes,  because  every  stripe  and  color  must  fit 
exactly  at  the  seams.  The  blind  tailor  succeeded  in  doing  this 
work  perfectly  well,  and  he  seemed  to  acquire  the  capacity  of 
recognizing  colors  by  the  touch." 

Even  among  those  persons  who  have  the  advantage  of  sight, 
proficiency  in  certain  manual  occupations  communicates  a  won- 
derful degree  of  delicacy  of  touch.  "The  female  silk-throwers 
of  Bengal,"  to  quote  again  from  Dr.  Carpenter,  "are  said  to  be 
able  to  distinguish  by  the  touch  alone,  twenty  degrees  of  fine- 
ness in  the  uncovered  cocoons,  which  are  sorted  accordingly; 
and  the  Indian  muslin-weaver  contrives,  by  the  delicacy  of  his 
touch,  to  make  the  finest  fabric  in  a  loom  of  such  simple  construc- 
tion that  European  fingers  could  at  best  propose  to  make  a 
piece  of  canvas  at  it."  Another  excellent  illustration -of  culti- 
vated delicacy  of  touch  is  presented  by  the  wonderful  facility 
with  which  the  women  employed  in  the  U.  S.  Treasury  Depart- 
ment recognize  counterfeit  coin  or  bank-notes. 

Perversions  of  the  sense  of  touch  and  insensibility  in  its 


USEFULNESS    OF    THE   SKIN    AND    HAIR.  23 

organs  are  often  witnessed  in  unhealthy  conditions  of  the 
nervous  system.  In  hysterical  attacks,  the  sufferers  sometimes 
seem  entirely  to  lose  the  perception  of  contact.  They  have  also 
been  seen  to  experience  injury  without  giving  any  sign  of  con- 
sciousness of  the  fact. 

A  special  modification  of  sensibility  is  the  ability  to  dis- 
tinguish various  degrees  of  heat.  It  is  probable  that  this  office 
is  served  by  nerve-fibrils  different  from  those  that  serve  the 
sense  of  touch,  for,  in  certain  cases  of  paralysis  of  the  limbs, 
the  perception  of  touch  is  abolished,  and  yet  the  surfaces  in- 
volved are  sensitive  to  temperature. 

The  apppreciation  by  the  skin  of  different  degrees  of  tem- 
perature varies  in  different  individuals.  It  also  somewhat  varies 
in  different  portions  of  the  body  among  the  same  individuals. 
The  left  hand  is  more  sensitive  than  the  right  in  the  matter  of 
sensitiveness  to  temperature,  whereas,  the  reverse  is  the  case  as 
regards  touch.  The  fingers,  the  elbow,  and  the  face  are  capable 
of  recognizing  very  slight  differences  of  temperature. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  cold  substances  seem  to  be 
heavier  than  those  of  equal  weight  at  a  higher  temperature. 
Beyond  a  certain  degree,  heat  is  converted  into  a  sense  of  pain 
experienced  by  the  body.  The  pain  is  of  the  same  kind, 
whether  produced  by  extreme  heat,  extreme  cold,  or  by  pressure. 
The  sensation  produced  by  touching  frozen  mercury  is  not  to 
be  distinguished  from  touching  red-hot  iron. 

The  sensibility  of  the  skin  to  temperature,  as  well  as  to 
other  impressions,  is  modified  by  the  condition  of  the  central 
nervous  system.  Fear  produces  a  sensation  of  cold,  and  may 
also  produce  an  actual  reduction  of  temperature  through  its 
influence  on  the  nerves  that  control  the  blood-vessels  of  the 
skin.  Dr.  Erasmus  Darwin,  the  grandfather  of  Charles  Darwin, 
tells  of  a  case  of  a  young  farmer,  who,  lying  out  all  night,  to 
detect  a  thief,  was  so  appalled  by  the  cursing  of  an  old  woman, 
who  turned  out  to  be  the  culprit,  that  he  suffered  with  cold  for 
many  hours  afterwards.  The  man's  nervous  system  was,  in  fact, 


24  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

so  shocked  from  the  outdoor  exposure  and  experience  with  the 
old  woman,  that  he  took  to  his  bed  within  a  fortnight  and  kept 
it  until  his  death,  twenty  years  later. 

Exaggeration  of  normal  sensibility  constitutes  pain.  Pain 
differs  in  character  and  degree  according  to  many  circumstances. 
It  is  produced,  as  already  noted,  by  the  application  of  extreme  heat 
or  cold,  by  severe  pressure,  and  by  wounds  and  disease.  There 
is,  however,  great  difference  among  individuals  in  regard  to 
susceptibility  to  injury.  Some  persons  can  bear,  without  winc- 
ing, injury  which  to  others  is  almost  intolerable.  The  extreme 
sensibility  of  the  first  constitutes  a  real  difference.  It  does  not 
always  depend  upon  the  courage  and  fortitude  of  the  individual, 
although  sometimes  it  does.  Every  hospital  physician  knows 
of  the  relative  composure  with  which  the  humbler  class  of 
patients  bear  pain.  A  workingman  of  rude  health,  of  iron  nerves, 
appears  to  suffer,  and,  doubtless,  does  suffer,  less  than  educated 
men  who  have  followed  some  sedentary  occupation.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  a  matter  qf  everyday  experience  that,  as  a  general  rule, 
nervous,  highly  organized  women  bear  pain  more  patiently  than 
any  men.  This  may,  in  a  measure,  depend  upon  the  fact,  that, 
excluding  pain  from  accident,  women  are,  more  than  men,  habit- 
uated to  bearing  it.  A  celebrated  Italian  physician  has  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  women  are  less  sensitive  to  injury  than 
men  are. 

Difference  in  susceptibility  to  pain  is  observable  among  dif- 
ferent races  of  men.  Some  are,  under  its  infliction,  compara- 
tively stolid;  others  are  extremely  agitated.  It  has  been  stated 
that  the  Chinese  can  composedly  bear  wounds  that  would  cause 
expression  of  great  suffering  among  Europeans.  They  can  sit 
or  lie  for  hours  without  any  sign  of  discomfort ;  but  much  of  this 
ability  is,  no  doubt,  owing  to  habit. 

The  action  of  the  mind  largely  controls  recognition  of 
injury.  In  the  heat  of  battle  or  other  conflict,  serious  wounds 
are  sometimes  not  perceived;  whereas,  when  injury  occurs  in 
cold  blood,  pain  is  immediately  suffered.  The  Spartans  of  old 


USEFULNESS   OF   THE   SKIN   AND   HAIR.  25 

were  trained  from  childhood  to  bear  ills,  including  pain,  unflinch- 
ingly, whence  comes  the  expression  "Spartan  fortitude."  The 
same  trait  is  characteristic  of  the  North  American  Indians. 
With  them,  it  is  a  matter  of  pride  to  undergo  torture  without 
manifesting  any  emotion.  Francis  Parkman,  the  historian  of 
French  Canada,  uses  the  following  language  in  describing  the 
Indian:  "Over  all  emotion  he  throws  the  veil  of  an  iron  self- 
control,  originating  in  a  peculiar  form  of  pride,  and  fostered 
by  vigorous  discipline  from  childhood  upward.  He  is  trained 
to  conceal  passion,  and  not  to  subdue  it.  In  the  torturing  fires 
of  his  enemy,  the  haughty  sufferer  maintains  to  the  last  his  look 
of  grim  defiance."  And  yet,  we  have  been  informed,  those  very 
same  people,  when  confined  to  reservations,  so  change  that  they 
clamor  for  ether  whenever  it  becomes  necessary  for  the  post- 
surgeon  to  perform  the  slightest  operation  upon  them. 

In  certain  mental  states  there  is  apparently  entire  abolition 
of  a  sense  of  pain.  In  well-marked  hysterical  cases,  needles  can 
be  thrust  into  the  skin  without  producing  the  slightest  evidence 
of  suffering.  In  the  great  hysterical  epidemics  which  history 
records,  there  were  marvelous  instances  of  indifference  to  injur- 
ies, often  self-inflicted.  On  the  other  hand,  sensitiverfess,  asso- 
ciated with  certain  diseases,  is  enormously  increased,  so  that  the 
slightest  contact  is  agonizing. 

Alteration  in  the  sensitiveness  of  the  skin  is  not  uncommon 
among  the  insane.  Dr.  D.  Hack  Tuke,  in  a  life  devoted  to  the 
study  of  mental  diseases,  cites  many  examples  of  this  condition 
among  the  insane.  He  mentions,  in  his  book  on  the  subject  of 
insanity,  the  investigation  of  a  French  physician  who  had  stated 
that,  in  an  institution  containing  six  hundred  melancholy  idiots, 
he  found  that  more  than  half  of  them  presented  different  degrees 
of  cutaneous  sensitiveness.  Most  of  those  afflicted  with  melan- 
cholia, especially  those  whose  disease  was  of  religious  origin, 
and  manifested  a  suicidal  tendency,  were  said  to  be  remarkably 
insensitive  to  injury.  Cupping-glasses  and  other  irritants  could 
be  applied  to  their  skins  without  exciting  the  least  complaint. 


26  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

The  history  of  religion,  not  only  of  Christianity,  but  also  of 
pagan  forms  of  belief,  affords  numerous  illustrations  of  the 
effect  of  religious  ecstasy  in  producing  insensibility  to  discomfort 
and  injury.  In  the  first  half  of  the  fifth  century  of  the  Christian 
era,  St.  Simeon  Stylites  passed  thirty-seven  years  of  his  life 
upon  the  top  of  a  tall  pillar,  or  tower,  engaged  in  devotional 
exercises,  and  apparently  indifferent  to  weather.  In  the  Middle 
Ages,  nervous  epidemics  spread  through  many  countries.  Per- 
sons under  the  influence  of  the  frenzy  indulged  in  the  most 
extravagant  contortions  until  they  fell  flat  upon  the  ground  from 
sheer  exhaustion. 

On  the  contrary,  the  influence  of  mind  may  give  rise  to  the 
sensation  of  pain  when  there  has  been  no  injury.  Professor 
Bennett  has  related  a  case  of  a  butcher,  who,  trying  to  hook 
up  a  heavy  piece  of  meat,  slipped,  was  suspended  by  the  arm, 
and  when  rescued,  declared  that  he  suffered  agony.  But  the 
hook  had  penetrated  only  his  coat.  A  French  writer,  Gratiolet, 
tells  of  a  law  student  who,  when  for  the  first  time  in  his  life 
he  witnessed  a  slight  surgical  operation,  was  so  deeply  affected 
by  the  sight,  that  he  felt  at  the  same  time  an  acute  pain  in  his 
ear,  sympathetically  engendered  by  his  having  seen  the  small 
tumor  that  was  removed  from  the  ear  of  the  patient. 

Slight  itching  is  occasionally  experienced  by  everyone,  and 
generally  has  no  particular  significance.  When,  however,  it  is 
severe,  and  more  or  less  constant,  an  unhealthy  condition  is  indi- 
cated, either  of  the  blood  or  of  the  nervous  system,  or  is  caused 
by  the  presence  of  some  disease  of  the  skin.  Whatever  origin- 
ates it,  the  immediate  cause  of  itching  is  the  irritation  of  the 
ends  of  cutaneous  nerves.  Its  most  violent  phase  sometimes 
attends  certain  functional  derangements  of  the  nervous  system, 
while  not  a  symptom  can  be  seen  in  the  skin  itself,  unless  injured 
by  scratching.  In  some  inflammatory  diseases  of  the  skin,  itch- 
ing is  an  almost  intolerable  symptom. 

Electric  currents  are  generated  in  the  tissues  of  the  body. 
Where  there  is  life,  there  is  chemical  action:  the  development 


USEFULNESS   OF   THE   SKIN    AND   HAIR.  2/ 

of  heat  and  also  of  electricity.  The  electrical  condition  of  the 
skin  is  generally  opposite  in  sign,  plus  or  minus,  to  that  of  most 
of  the  internal  organs.  Some  persons  are  so  charged  with  elec- 
tricity that  sparks  are  generated  from  their  persons  simply  by 
removing  clothing  that  has  been  worn  next  the  skin.  In  some 
others  the  manifestation  may  be  produced  by  rubbing  the  skin 
lightly  and  quickly  with  a  linen  cloth.  An  Italian  physician 
relates  the  case  of  a  lady  from  whose  limbs  "sparks  of  fire  flew 
out  plentifully  as  often  as  they  were  lightly  rubbed  with  linen." 
Physical  experiments  have  proved  that  slight  causes,  such  as  a 
shout,  determine  the  production  of  electric  currents  in  the  skin. 
The  state  of  the  mind  has  also  been  found  to  exercise  a  decided 
influence  upon  the  development  of  such  currents.  A  tranquil 
state  is  not  associated  with  their  action  in  great  degree,  but  a 
mental  effort,  as  for  instance,  the  attempt  to  solve  a  difficult 
problem,  creates  a  current  strong  in  proportion  to  the  difficulty 
of  the  task. 

The  human  skin,  however  healthy  and  clean,  exhales  an 
odor,  which,  if  not  always  perceptible  to  fellow-beings,  never- 
theless exists.  The  fact  is  demonstrated  by  the  well-known 
capacity  of  dogs  to  follow  their  masters  when  not  in  sight.  No 
reference  is  here  included  to  the  unpleasant  scents  due  to  neglect 
of  personal  cleanliness.  The  purest  bodies  will  sometimes  emit 
a  perfume  so  delicate  that  it  has  been  likened  to  the  odor  of 
violets.  Ability  to  recognize  individuals  by  their  odor  has  been 
observed.  Instances  are  known  where  the  sense  of  smell  was  so 
acute  that,  by  it  alone,  difference  between  the  sexes  and  between 
youth  and  age  was  detected.  The  case  of  a  Scotch  boy  has  often 
been  cited,  whose  whole  knowledge  of  the  external  world  was 
derived  solely  from  his  abnormally  developed  senses  of  touch 
and  smell. 

Light  has  been  observed  to  emanate  from  a  living  human 
body.  The  generation  of  light  by  organisms  low  in  the  scale  of 
nature  is  a  familiar  phenomenon.  It  is  seen  in  the  phosphor- 
escent animacules  of  the  sea,  the  glow-worm,  the  fire-fly. 


28  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

Luminous  exhalations  in  grave-yards  have  given  rise  to  much 
superstitious  fear.  In  some  cases  of  lingering,  exhausting  dis- 
ease, phosphorescent  illumination  of  the  body  has  presented  a 
very  extraordinary  spectacle.  There  is  a  well-authenticated  case 
of  a  man  who  had  been  in  a  decline  for  years.  As  death  drew 
near,  visiting  neighbors  were  awestruck  at  the  light  proceeding 
from  his  body.  A  celebrated  Irish  physician  describes  a  cancer- 
ous ulcer  whose  light  was  perceptible  by  night,  so  vivid  and 
steady  that  it  could  be  seen  at  the  distance  of  twenty  feet. 

Having  now  sufficiently  considered  the  action  and  the  use- 
fulness of  the  skin,  let  us  proceed  to  the  attributes  of  the  hair, 
but  not  in  its  aesthetic  aspect,  simply1  in  that  of  its  action  and 
usefulness. 

Excluding  then,  for  the  present,  the  consideration  of  the 
hair  as  an  ornamental  appendage,  let  us  confine  ourselves  to  dis- 
cussing its  usefulness  as  a  protection.  In  the  first  place,  sharing 
with  the  skin,  of  which  it  has  been  here  demonstrated  that  it  is 
derived,  the  properties  of  the  skin  itself,  the  hair  is  a  poor  conduc- 
tor of  heat.  It  follows  that  hair  protects  the  parts  which  it  covers 
from  the  effects  of  both  heat  and  cold.  It  would  be  much  better 
for  the  health,  not  only  of  the  scalp,  but  of  the  body  at  large,  if 
the  wearing  of  head  coverings  were  less  common  than  now.  In 
mild  climates,  during  the  warmer  portion  of  the  year,  the  hair 
was  once,  undoubtedly,  the  only  covering  used  for  the  head. 
The  use  of  headgear,  even  at  the  present  day,  is  unknown  among 
many  wild  tribes  of  mankind.  Certain  tribes  of  Arabs  make 
use  of  no  turbans,  relying  entirely  upon  their  abundant  growth 
of  hair  for  protection  against  the  sun.  The  same  practice  pre- 
vails among  many  tribes  of  Africans. 

The  hair  contributes  to  the  protection  of  the  head  in  both 
hot  and  cold  weather.  In  hot  weather,  it  so  contributes  through 
its  non-conducting  property,  by  shielding  the  head  from  exces- 
sive outer  heat,  and  in  cold  weather,  from  excessive  loss  of  heat, 
by  its  radiation  from  the  scalp.  On  account  of  women's  profuse 
covering  of  hair  of  the  head,  they  are  less  liable  than  men  are 


USEFULNESS  OF  THE   SKIN   AND   HAIR.  2Q 

to  cold  from  being  bareheaded.  The  efficiency  of  this,  nature's 
headdress,  is  clearly  shown  by  this  relative  immunity  from 
exposure. 

The  beard  is  an  excellent  protection  for  the  throat,  and 
is  generally  worn  by  the  natives  of,  and  travelers  in,  cold  climates. 
Not  infrequently  it  happens,  that  men  subject  to  sore  throat  are 
cured  by  allowing  the  beard  to  grow.  Walter  Savage  Landor, 
the  distinguished  writer,  was,  in  this  way,  relieved  of  suscepti- 
bility to  sore  throat.  Not  only  does  the  beard  protect  its  wearer 
from  cold,  but  it  also  protects  him  from  the  inhalation  of  dust, 
which  is  in  many  trades  a  very  important  consideration.  Gritty 
particles  are  by  the  beard  intercepted  and  thus  prevented  from 
reaching  the  lungs,  in  which  their  presence  excites  a  peculiar 
form  of  disease.  The  beards  of  blacksmiths  may  be  seen  to  be 
discolored  by  the  accumulation  of  iron  rust.  Travelers  in  Syria 
and  Egypt  find  it  of  great  advantage  to  wear  full  beards  as  pro- 
tection against  the  heated  sands  of  deserts. 

The  remarkable  elasticity  of  the  hair  affords  considerable 
protection  to  the  head  from  blows.  Instances  are  on  record  in 
which  this  quality  of  the  hair  undoubtedly  modified  their  force. 
Again,  the  hair  protects  the  scalp  from  the  bites  of  insects,  no 
mean  office  for  the  inhabitants  of  hot  countries  swarming  with 
poisonous  insects.  The  hairs  of  the  eyebrows  and  eyelashes 
protect  the  eyes  from  insects  and  fine  particles  of  many  sorts. 
The  fine  hairs  at  the  entrance  of  the  nostrils  and  the  ears  accom- 
plish the  same  purpose.  In  addition,  the  growth  of  the  hair  is 
not  without  a  certain  influence  upon  the  constitution  of  the 
blood.  It  is  influential  to  some  degree  in  the  nutrition  of  highly 
organized  tissues.  Blood  is  a  fluid  of  wonderfully  complex  con- 
stitution. It  contains  the  elements  with  which  every  part  of  the 
body  is  nourished.  Every  part  of  the  body  has  its  selective 
action,  through  which  it  assimilates  only  just  what  it  needs  from 
this  vital  fluid.  Equilibrium  must  be  maintained,  in  order  that 
every  tissue  and  organ  may  possess  neither  more  nor  less  than 
what  is  requisite  for  its  proper  sustenance.  If  this  balance  be 


3O  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

disarranged,  the  proper  nutrition  of  some  part  or  parts  suffers. 
All  parts  are  indissolubly  joined  together.  The  hair,  which 
eliminates  lime,  sulphur,  manganese,  and  iron  from  the  blood, 
must  play  its  own,  if  comparatively  unimportant,  part  in  the 
human  economy,  by  influencing  the  maintenance  of  the  normal 
standard  of  the  blood.  The  nails,  too,  exercise  in  this  direction 
a  similar  influence  to  that  of  the  hair,  but  so  slight,  owing  to 
the  smallness  of  their  surface  as  a  whole,  that  their  influence  in 
this  respect  may  be  regarded  as  quite  negligible. 


CHAPTER    IV. 
THE  COMPLEXION. 

COMPLEXION  depends  upon  a  number  of  conditions; 
upon  the  general  health,  the  quality  of  the  blood,  the 
quality  of  the  true  skin  and  of  the  scarf-skin,  the  dispo- 
sition of  the  capillaries  and  their  corresponding  nerves. 

The  skin,  like  every  other  structure  of  the  body,  differs  with 
regard  to  the  delicacy  of  texture  in  different  individuals.  This 
natural  covering  of  the  body  is  also  organized  of  variable  thick- 
nesses in  the  same  individual,  to  meet  corresponding  needs. 
Although,  however,  this  individuality  obtains,  there  is  also,  as 
indicated,  special  difference  among  individuals.  These  remarks 
apply  to  the  true  skin,  but  the  same  are  applicable  to  the  scarf- 
skin,  especially  to  its  outermost,  or  horny  layer.  The  glandular 
system  of  the  skin  has  much  to  do  with  a  good  complexion. 
Excessive  amounts  of  perspiration  or  of  sebaceous  matter  ren- 
der the  surface  of  the  skin  unduly  moist  and  oily.  On  the  con- 
trary, an  insufficient  supply  of  these  renders  it  dry  and  harsh  to 
the  touch. 

The  principal  conditions,  however,  of  a  good  complexion, 
relate  to  the  blood  and  nervous  system.  Coarseness  of  skin  is 
not  perceived  as  a  decided  blemish  if  both  blood  and  nerves  are 
in  a  healthy  condition.  In  the  body,  the  different  parts  act 
and  react  upon  one  another  intimately  and  incessantly;  it  is  a 
great  factory,  elaborating  matter  and  discharging  its  waste. 
There  can  be  no  healthy  skin  without  healthy  blood.  If  the 
blood  be  disordered,  the  nutrition  of  the  nervous  system  suffers, 
nervous  force  is  depressed,  and  digestion  fails  to  proceed. 
Continued  failure  of  digestion  easily  to  assimilate  food,  results 
in  impoverishment  of  the  blood.  There  is  wonderful  sympathy 
between  the  condition  of  the  digestive  system  and  that  of  the 

31 


32  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

skin,  a  sympathy  that  will  be  clearly  demonstrated  in  the  course 
of  the  following  pages. 

The  scarf-skin  is  a  very  thin  membrane.  By  reason  of  this 
fact,  and  also  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  its  outermost  layer  is 
a  horny  structure,  it  is  translucent.  It  therefore  only  partially 
conceals  the  quality  of  the  true  skin  upon  which  it  rests.  The 
color,  the  ridges,  and  the  furrows  of  the  true  skin  are  discern- 
ible through  the  scarf-skin.  Reference  is,  of  course,  here  being 
made  to  the  scarf-skin  of  the  white  races  of  men.  The  word  com- 
plexion is  used  in  two  senses.  In  one  it  expresses  the  difference 
of  color  observable  between  Europeans  or  descendants  of 
Europeans  on  the  one  side,  and  Africans  and  Asiatics  on  the 
other.  In  the  other  sense,  which  is  that  to  which  it  is  here  at 
this  moment  confined,  the  word  relates  to  greater  or  less  degree 
of  purity  in  complexion  among  persons  belonging  to  the  white 
race. 

The  scarf-skin  depends  for  color  upon  the  pigment  derived 
from  the  lowest  layer  of  the  four  thin  layers  of  which  the  scarf- 
skin  is  composed.  This  pigment  has  been  called  melanin,  from 
the  Greek  word  signifying  black.  This  matter  contains  iron,  and 
is  supposed  to  be  a  derivative  of  the  hatniatin  of  the  blood,  which 
also  contains  iron.  The  abundance  or  the  sparsity  of  melanin 
in  the  scarf-skin  accounts  for  the  widely  different  shades  of  skin 
found  among  different  races,  from  the  white  race  to  the  darkest. 
The  color  of  the  skin  is  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  of  the 
differences  that  characterize  mankind.  The  terms  Asian,  Mon- 
golian, Malay,  Negro,  and  American  Indian,  have  come  down 
to  us  from  the  eighteenth  century,  and  have  become  so  familiar 
that  they  can  hardly  be  discarded.  Nevertheless,  they  imply  a 
fallacious  distinction.  It  is  impossible  to  classify  mankind  pre- 
cisely, either  by  color  or  the  form  of  the  skull.  The  evidence  of 
language  furnishes  us  with  a  more  trustworthy  criterion  with 
relation  to  descent.  We  now  know  that  tribes  and  peoples  may  be 
allied,  though  they  may  differ  as  to  both  color  and  the  shape  of 
the  skull.  Conversely,  they  may  agree  as  to  color  and  the  shape 


THE    COMPLEXION.  33 

of  the  skull,  and  yet  differ  much  in  other  attributes.  For  in- 
stance, there  can  be  no  doubt  that  pure  Hindus  belong  to  the 
same  race  as  the  Latin,  Germanic,  and  Celtic  peoples.  Yet  the 
Hindus  have  dark  skins  and  are  sometimes  jet-black,  while  their 
hair  is  straight  and  their  features  as  clear-cut  as  those  of 
Europeans.  Arabs  seem  to  belong  to  an  entirely  different  race 
from  the  Caucasian,  and  yet  they  are  generally  characterized  at 
present  by  the  same  form  of  skull,  features,  and  hair.  The  old- 
est settlers  among  the  Arabs,  in  Africa,  however,  exhibit  every 
gradation  of  color,  from  the  swarthiness  of  Southern  Europeans 
to  the  blackness  of  Africans.  Mongolians  generally  have  a  yel- 
lowish tinge  of  complexion;  Malays,  a  brown  one;  and  the 
North  American  Indian,  a  reddish-brown  one,  generally  called 
copper-colored. 

The  color  of  the  scarf-skin  is  obviously  influenced  by 
climate.  The  descendants  of  Europeans  long  settled  in  hot 
countries  acquire  a  swarthy  complexion.  When  this  tendency  is 
transmitted  through  many  generations,  one  can  readily  see  that 
it  is  sufficient  to  account  for  the  various  shades  of  complexion 
observed  in  different  countries.  Life-long  exposure  to  the  sun 
browns  the  faces  of  seafaring  men.  If  a  person  has  been  origin- 
ally a  light-complexioned  man,  associated  with  light  hair  and 
eyes,  the  change  to  a  dark  complexion  contrasts  oddly  with  those 
attributes.  The  rays  of  the  sun  make  an  increased  deposit  of 
coloring  matter  in  the  scarf-skin.  Once  formed,  it  is  never  en- 
tirely lost.  This  refers,  of  course,  to  constant  exposure  to  the 
sun,  not  to  that  which  belongs  to  an  occasional  outing.  Even 
the  influence  of  that,  however,  slight  though  it  is,  is  never  en- 
tirely lost.  It  has  been  of  late  a  fad  among  some  women  to 
allow  themselves  to  become  somewhat  sunburned,  partly  as  evi- 
dence of  having  been  in  the  country,  and  partly  from  the  notion 
that  by  it  an  appearance  of  health  is  presented.  But  good  cir- 
culation of  the  blood  ensures  a  better  sign  of  health  than  do  the 
most  delicately  tanned  cheeks.  Men,  women,  and  children  need 
sunlight,  just  as  much  as  do  plants,  but,  in  the  interest  of  a 


34  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

good  complexion,  direct  and  prolonged  exposure  of  it  to  the 
sun's  rays  had  better  be  avoided  by  women  if  they  wish  to  pre- 
serve their  good  looks.  The  same  remark  holds  good,  of  course, 
for  the  hands.  A  well-formed  and  white  hand  is  certainly  a 
beautiful  object,  decidedly  marred  by  discoloration.  Briefly, 
while  the  female  sex  should  be  encouraged  to  out-door  enjoy- 
ment, it  should  not  neglect  one  of  its  highest  attributes  of  beauty 
in  the  complexion.  In  speaking  generally  of  complexion,  it  is  to 
that  of  the  female  sex  to  which  reference  is  now  made.  If  a 
man's  face  be  free  from  profuse  freckles  and  blotches,  the  world 
seems  to  care  little  if  it  be  light  or  dark.  Of  course,  there  are 
types  of  masculine,  as  well  as  of  feminine  beauty,  but  departure 
from  the  former  affects  our  aesthetic  sense  far  less  than  does 
departure  from  the  latter  kind. 

An  abrasion  of  the  skin  shows  the  bright  red  color  beneath 
it,  of  the  surface  thus  exposed.  This  red  surface  is  the  true 
skin,  from  which  the  scarf-skin  has  been  forcibly  detached. 
This  color  of  the  true  skin  is  owing  to  the  large  amount  of 
blood  that  it  contains.  No  blood-vessel  enters  the  scarf-skin, 
which  obtains  its  whole  nutriment  from  this  true  skin,  to  which 
it  is  intimately  attached.  The  soft,  young  cells  of  the  lowest 
stratum  of  the  scarf-skin  imbibe  the  watery  portion  of  the  blood 
from  the  true  skin  for  their  sustenance.  The  true  skin  and  the 
subcutaneous-  connective  tissue  upon  which  it  rests  are  rich  in 
blood-vessels.  One  of  the  functions  of  connective  tissue,  where 
found,  is  to  support  blood-vessels. 

Arteries  lying  beneath  the  skin  send  upward  numerous 
branches  which  penetrate  the  meshes  of  the  skin.  From  these 
branches  smaller  vessels  divide,  and  the  process  of  subdivision  is 
carried  on  indefinitely,  until  every  portion  of  the  true  skin  is 
supplied  with  its  own  little  artery.  An  artery,  however  minute, 
is  too  thick-walled  to  supply  nutriment  directly  to  the  cells  of 
the  tissue  to  which  it  is  to  be  distributed.  The  wall  of  every 
artery  is  composed  of  three  layers,  or  coats.  The  inner  layer, 
that  through  which  the  blood  flows,  is  an  exceedingly  thin, 


THE    COMPLEXION.  35 

smooth,  delicate  membrane.  The  middle  layer  is  composed  of 
muscular  fiber.  The  outer  layer  is  composed  of  fibrous  tissue. 
The  two  outer  layers  give  strength,  elasticity,  and  contractile 
power  to  the  artery. 

As  arteries  become  smaller  and  smaller  as  they  approach 
the  cells  of  the  skin  which  they  are  destined  to  support  with 
nutriment,  their  two  outer  layers  grow  thinner  and  thinner  until 
they  finally  disappear.  The  vessels  now  consist  of  but  a  single 
layer,  and  in  this  condition  they  are  called  capillaries.  The  ele- 
ments of  the  blood  are  capable  of  passing  through  their  mem- 
brane, by  which  alone  they  are  separated  from  the  enclosing 
tissue.  An  artery  becomes  broken  up  into  an  immense  number 
of  capillaries.  It  has  been  calculated  that  the  average  number 
of  the  smaller  blood-vessels  is  nearly  four  hundred  times  that  of 
the  trunks  from  which  they  depart.  They  are  so  minute,  that 
the  blood  necessarily  flows  very  slowly  through  them.  The  cells 
which  their  contents  nourish  are  thus  afforded  plenty  of  time  for 
the  absorption  of  their  nutriment.  It  is  while  the  blood  is  thus 
relieved  of  a  portion  of  its  elements,  that  the  change  takes  place 
from  arterial  to  venous  blood.  But  little  need  be  added  in  this 
connection  about  veins,  inasmuch  as,  before  the  blood  reaches 
these  vessels,  nutrition  of  the  tissue  has  already  taken  place. 
Veins,  as  well  as  arteries,  have  three  coats,  but  in  them  the  mus- 
cular layer  is  considerably  thinner  than  the  muscular  layer  of 
arteries  is.  They  are  entitled  to  distinct  mention  in  connection 
with  the  complexion,  on  account  of  their  delicate  lines  of  blue, 
which  everyone  must  have  observed  to  enhance  the  beauty  of  the 
red  and  white  tint  of  the  skin. 

The  highest  manifestations  of  life  take  place  through  the 
agency  of  the  nervous  system.  The  brain  and  the  spinal  cord 
preside  over  the  manifold  activities  which  are  carried  on  within 
the  body.  Nerve-fibers  go  to  every  secreting  gland  and  accom- 
pany every  blood-vessel.  Nervous  matter  consists  of  two  kinds, 
gray  and  white.  The  white  kind  is  arranged  in  the  form  of 
filaments.  The  function  of  this  variety,  commonly  known  as 


36  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

nerves,  is  to  conduct  impressions  to  or  from  the  brain.  The  gray 
kind  of  nervous  matter  forms  collections  of  various  sizes  in  vari- 
ous situations.  Its  function  originates  and  modifies  impressions. 
It  consists  of  aggregations  of  cells;  but  although  white  nervous 
matter  also  consists  of  cells,  they  are  arranged  in  filaments, 
whereas  the  gray  matter  is  arranged  in  masses.  Collections  of 
gray  matter  are  found  upon  the  walls  of  blood-vessels,  upon 
muscular  masses,  in  the  neighborhood  of  important  glands,  and 
in  other  situations.  The  nerve-filaments  are  connected  with  these 
collections  of  gray  matter,  and  they  in  turn  are  connected  with  the 
spinal  cord  and  the  brain.  The  spinal  cord  is  composed  internally 
of  gray  matter  and  externally  of  white  matter.  The  white  mat- 
ter of  the  spinal  cord  consists  of  innumerable  white  fibers  on 
their  way  to  or  from  the  brain.  Those  bearing  messages  to  the 
brain  pass  upward  .along  the  posterior  portion  of  the  cord. 
Those  bearing  mandates  for  action  from  the  brain,  descend  along 
the  anterior  portion  of  the  cord. 

In  the  brain  itself,  these  two  kinds  of  nervous  matter  are 
disposed  in  the  reverse  manner,  the  gray  substance  being  ar- 
ranged upon  the  exterior,  and  the  white  substance  in  the  interior. 
Within  the  brain  there  are,  besides,  other  collections  of  gray 
matter.  The  white  substance  connects  the  different  masses  of 
gray  matter  with  one  another  throughout  the  whole  brain  and 
body.  It  is  through  this  arrangement  by  which  a  mechanism  is 
formed  which  controls  the  whole  organism.  Masses  of  gray 
matter  are  called  ganglia,  from  a  Greek  word  meaning  knots, 
because  they  bear  some  resemblance  to  knots.  The  gray  matter 
within  the  spinal  cord,  and  upon  the  outer  surface  of  the  brain, 
being  expanded  and  continuous,  has  not  the  appearance  of  being 
knotted.  Nevertheless,  both  brain  and  cord  are  properly  re- 
garded as  containing  a  service  of  ganglia  consolidated,  for  it  is 
known  that  different  areas  are  devoted  to  the  performance  of 
different  functions.  The  human  brain  constitutes  the  highest 
development  of  the  nervous  system. 


THE    COMPLEXION.  37 

The  nervous  centers,  both  high  and  low,  may  be  justly  com- 
pared, in  a  functional  way,  to  an  army.  Each  subaltern  com- 
mands a  certain  number  of  units,  but  his  orders  are  taken  from 
a  superior  officer.  The  privates  come  into  immediate  relations 
with  the  officers  of  their  own  company.  The  regiment  is  under 
command  of  a  colonel,  who,  in  his  turn,  is  under  command  of 
a  general,  and  he,  under  the  command  of  a  general-in-chief. 
The  general-in-chief,  although  controlling  everything,  ordinarily 
comes  into  little  immediate  contact  with  the  lower  ranks  of  which 
companies,  regiments,  brigades,  and  corps  are  composed.  We 
may,  in  some  such  fashion,  regard  the  functional  constitution  of 
the  brain.  It  has  virtual  dictatorship  over  all  the  nervous  system, 
but  every  individual  portion  has  its  own  specified  duty. 

There  are  two  chains  of  ganglia  stretched  along  the  front 
of  the  spinal  column,  one  upon  each  side.  The  branches  sent 
off  from  these  chains  join  nerve-fibers  that  emerge  from  the 
spinal  cord,  and,  in  certain  places,  form  an  intricate  network 
called  a  nervous  plexus.  In  the  abdominal  cavity  there  are  sev- 
eral large  plexuses,  one  of  which  is  of  so  great  size  and  import- 
ance, that  it  was  denominated  by  Professor  William  H.  Pancoast 
"the  abdominal  brain."  From  these  plexuses  proceed  branches 
to  all  the  great  organs  of  the  chest  and  abdomen.  This  system 
is  collectively  known  as  "the  sympathetic  nervous  system;"  so 
called  because  it  serves  those  organs  which  may  be  sympathetic- 
ally disturbed  by  derangements  occurring  in  other  organs,  or 
brought  about  by  affections  of  the  mind.  The  nerves  under  dis- 
cussion, which  issue  from  the  spinal  cord,  are  called  "cerebro- 
spinal  nerves,"  cerebrum  meaning  brain.  Each  set  of  fibers  of 
which  the  two  sets  are  composed,  exhibits  individual  peculiarities 
of  structure,  but  they  are  closely  connected  by  branches  which 
pass  between  the  two  systems. 

The  reader  is  now  scientifically  prepared  to  understand  the 
action  of  the  nervous  system  upon  the  blood-vessels  of  the  skin, 
and  therefore  as  influencing  the  complexion.  Upon  the  exte- 
rior of  all  blood-vessels,  of  whatever  kind,  and  wherever  situ- 


38  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

ated,  minute  nerve-fibers  run.  Blood-vessels  are  not  rigid  tubes. 
They  dilate  and  contract,  and  these  actions  are  accomplished 
through  the  agency  of  the  nervous  system,  called  "the  vasomotor 
system,"  vas  meaning  a  vessel  or  vein.  At  certain  points  upon 
the  wall  of  a  vessel,  small  ganglia  are  situated.  The  office  of 
the  vasomotor  nerves  is  to  contract  and  dilate  the  blood-vessels. 
Irritation,  followed  by  activity  of  the  supreme  nervous  centers, 
is  followed  by  change  in  the  caliber  of  the  blood-vessels. 

The  importance  of  the  vasomotor  nerves  is  immense.  The 
varying  caliber  of  the  blood-vessels  is  intimately  associated  with 
nutrition  of  the  tissues.  In  the  skin,  it  is  apparent  in  its  fluctu- 
ations of  color.  The  higher  vasomotor  centers  are  peculiarly 
susceptible  to  emotional  influences.  It  may  be  shown  in  the 
blush  that  mantles  the  cheek  from  modesty,  confusion,  or  shame. 
When  the  mind  is  swayed  by  powerful  emotions,  alternate  flush- 
ing and  paleness  may  occur.  Fear,  as  already  elsewhere  men- 
tioned, causes  blanching  of  the  skin.  Under  powerful  emotion, 
evidenced  by  these  signs,  the  circulation  of  blood  through  the 
brain  may  become  so  enfeebled  that  the  person  affected  may 
faint.  The  effects  of  emotion  upon  the  skin  are  usually  transi- 
tory, but  there  are  cases  where  anger  or  fear  or  other  strong 
emotion  has  given  rise  to  jaundice  which  discolored  the  skin  for 
some  time. 

What  has  been  heretofore  said  regarding  the  complexion  is 
easily  summarized.  A  smooth,  clear  skin,  and  a  healthy  color, 
are  its  prime  constituents.  The  color  depends  upon  the  amount 
of  pigment  contained  in  the  scarf-skin  and  upon  the  quantity 
and  quality  of  the  blood  circulating  in  the  capillaries  of  the  true 
skin.  In  a  state  of  health,  the  arteries  are  not  visible  in  the 
skin.  The  large  veins  that  course  beneath  the  skin  are  visible 
as  blue  lines,  their  color  being  due  to  refraction  and  reflection 
of  the  rays  of  light.  It  is  the  horny  layer  of  the  scarf-skin 
that  produces  its  exquisitely  smooth  surface.  The  general  tint 
of  the  complexion,  whether  fair  or  dark,  is  of  minor  import- 
ance to  beauty,  provided  that  the  hue  of  health  be  not  absent. 


THE    COMPLEXION.  39 

It  is  not  indispensable  that  the  color  should  be  habitually  high. 
A  translucent  skin,  in  which  color  readily  comes  and  goes,  in 
response  to  emotional  bidding,  is  preferable  to  one  in  which  the 
tint  never  varies.  A  pure,  white  skin,  upon  which  a  rosy  tinge 
is  seldom  seen,  may,  however,  be  very  beautiful.  If  the  eyes  be 
bright  and  lips  vermilion,  we  may  be  sure  that  paleness  in  a  face 
is  not  indicative  of  ill  health.  Poverty  of  red  corpuscles  in  the 
blood,  two  of  whose  elements  are  red  and  white  corpuscles,  is 
incompatible  with  proper  nourishment,  incompatible  with  all  out- 
ward attributes  of  health  and  beauty. 


CHAPTER    V. 
THE  ELEMENTS  OF  BEAUTY  AND  GRACE. 

ESTIMATE  of  the  relativeness  of  beauty  varies  among  dif- 
ferent races  of  mankind,  in  accordance,  to  a  large  degree, 
with  their  own  prepossessions  acquired  in  early  life.  We 
find,  even  among  artists,  whose  training  makes  them,  of  all  per- 
sons, the  least  prejudiced  in  views  of  beauty,  a  universal  ten- 
dency to  regard  as  the  highest  types  of  human  and  of  inanimate 
beauty,  those  to  which  they  have  been  accustomed  from  birth. 
It  is  the  same  with  artist  views  as  to  all  forms  of  beauty;  the 
inspiration  to  carry  them  into  being  through  action  proceeds 
along  lines  of  both  racial  and  natal  development.  We  see  this 
conspicuously  in  the  architecture  of  different  races. 

Savage  tribes,  unlettered,  uneducated  in  the  higher  sense  of 
the  word,  are  unable  to  give  expression  to  anything  that  is 
deemed  beautiful  by  the  civilized  peoples  of  the  world.  As  they 
are  without  architecture,  painting,  and  sculpture,  or  the  rudest 
success  in  those  arts,  we  are  justified  in  thinking  that  they  are 
even  destitute  of  a  sense  of  the  beautiful  in  those  departments 
of  human  conception  which  would  lead  to  execution  in  art,  and 
that  they  are,  therefore,  probably  even  destitute  of  sentiment 
for  those  works  when  produced  by  others.  When  we  come  to 
consider  the  ideas  of  these  people  regarding  personal  beauty  and 
adornment,  we  find  them  not  only  crude  in  both  particulars,  but 
often  positively  offensive  to  the  taste  of  more  highly  organized 
races.  Let  us  consider  briefly  cases  of  these  conditions,  by 
way  of  showing  the  depth  of  aesthetic  degradation  in  which  some 
peoples  of  the  earth  still  live.  In  some  places  in  Africa,  the  most 
beautiful  female  form  is  considered  that  in  which  the  posterior 
is  monstrously  developed.  There  are  tribes  that  insert,  in  holes 
bored  in  their  noses,  pieces  of  stick,  pebbles,  or  rings.  The  ears 
are  sometimes  so  treated  as  to  be  drawn  down  in  great  flaps. 
40 


THE   ELEMENTS    OF    BEAUTY    AND   GRACE.  41 

Among  the  Guaranis,  of  South  America,  it  is  customary  to  slit 
the  upper  lip,  in  order  to  expose  the  front  teeth.  The  African 
Kaffirs  train  their  lips  to  project  like  snouts.  Sir  Samuel  Baker, 
the  great  African  traveler,  informs  us  that  some  native  idea  of 
facial  beauty  is  the  visage  of  the  dog-faced  baboon.  It  has  been 
reported  that  the  Dyaks,  of  Borneo,  think  beautiful  the  nose  of 
the  monkey.  The  Tasmanians  consider  a  tattooed  skin  as  not 
only  elegantly  adorned,  but  a  requirement  of  decency.  The 
Flathead  Indians,  of  Northwest  America,  force  the  bones  of  the 
skull  from  infancy  into  a  distorted  growth.  There  are  peoples 
who  blacken  their  teeth.  According  to  an  article  written  by  Dr. 
Magitot,  of  Paris,  it  is  customary  in  Japan,  China,  and  the  Indo- 
Chinese  Peninsula,  for  a  girl,  upon  the  occasion  of  her  marriage, 
to  administer  to  her  teeth  a  black  varnish.  He  also  tells  us,  that 
among  various  African  tribes  the  central  upper  teeth  are  ex- 
tracted. In  the  Malayan  archipelago,  filing  of  the  teeth  prevails. 

We  know  what  were  the  ideas  of  beauty  entertained  by  for- 
mer civilized  peoples,  from  the  study  of  their  sculptures  and 
architecture.  Distinct  racial  conceptions  of  beauty  are  recogniz- 
able, as  Chinese,  Assyrian,  Egyptian,  Greek,  and  Saracenic,  upon 
each  of  which  is  stamped  impress  of  the  special  point  of  view  as 
to  beauty.  The  partially  buried  ruins  amid  the  forests  of  Central 
America,  and  what  remains  of  Aztec  and  Peruvian  civilization, 
point  in  the  same  direction.  From  historical  knowledge,  locality, 
and  remains  of  objects  of  art,  modern  art  has  been  most  pro- 
foundly affected  by  that  of  Greece.  In  the  best  Greek  sculptures, 
modern  artists  find  superb  representations  of  beauty  of  face  and 
form.  They  prove  to  us,  not  only  the  high  degree  of  artistic 
genius  and  talent  among  the  Greeks,  necessary  for  their  exe- 
cution, but  also  that  the  living  models  from  which  these  ideals 
were  formed  must  have  been  of  exquisite  beauty  of  their  highly 
developed  race. 

Estimation  of  beauty  differs  even  among  individuals  of  the 
same  race,  as  well  as  among  races  themselves,  although  not  to 
the  same  degree,  as  ought  to  be  recognized  from  what  has 


42  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

already  been  said.  To  persons  of  artistic  sensibility,  the  con- 
templation of  human  beauty,  or  of  beauty  in  landscape  and  ocean- 
shore,  affords  the  most  exquisite  pleasure.  The  uncultivated, 
rude  minds  of  persons  living  even  among  those  of  the  highest 
civilization  are  wholly  inappreciative  of  the  beautiful  in  any 
form.  The  glory  of  sunset,  the  landscape  adorned  with  hills, 
woods,  and  streams,  the  field  of  grain,  the  purple  mountains  with 
snow-capped  tops,  the  grazing  flocks  and  herds,  excite,  if  any, 
only  feeble  perception  of  the  beautiful.  The  poet  or  the  artist, 
on  the  other  hand,  roams  through  hills  and  valleys,  and  there 
finds  in  every  shining  cloud,  every  shadow,  every  rippling 
stream,  in  the  very  herbage  beneath  his  feet,  the  flowers  by  the 
wayside,  unending  sources  of  gratification.  The  boor  often 
moves  among  the  same  scenes  and  scarcely  looks  to  find  any- 
thing to  admire.  To  him 

"A  primrose  by  the  river's  brim 
A  yellow  primrose  is  to  him, 
And  nothing  more." 

It  follows  that,  upon  the  basis  of  race  as  the  fundamental 
condition,  education,  in  its  highest  sense,  is  indispensable  to  the 
perception  and  enjoyment  of  beauty.  Of  all  human  beings,  poets 
and  artists  are  those  wht»  are  most  keenly  alive  to  its  manifes- 
tations. The  critical  faculty  is  common  to  a  much  larger  num- 
ber of  mankind.  To  be  able,  however,  not  only  to  perceive,  but 
to  express  the  sense  of  the  beautiful  must  be  regarded  as  proof 
of  deeper  understanding  of  it.  Much  fruitless  discussion  has 
taken  place  as  to  whether  beauty  belongs  to  objects  in  themselves, 
or  lies  wholly  in  the  mind  of  the  beholder.  But,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  beauty  must  exist  independently;  and  just  as  a 
purblind  person  sees  objects  only  indistinctly,  so  one  of  aesthetic 
mind  has  vision  of  the  beautiful  in  proportion  to  his  mental  and 
artistic  capacity  and  culture,  some  persons  being  to  it  pur- 
blind, and  others  living  perceivingly  in  its  fullest  radiance. 


THE   ELEMENTS   OF  BEAUTY   AND    GRACE.  43 

Female  loveliness  has  ever  been  the  favorite  subject  of  the 
poetic,  plastic,  and  pictorial  arts.  It  dominates  the  world  of 
fiction  and  romance.  Who  can  compute  the  value  in  influence 
for  good  that  follows  the  appeal  of  beauty  allied  with  goodness 
in  a  heroine ;  who  underrate  the  lessons  taught  where  beauty  is, 
on  the  contrary,  allied  with  base  passions?  The  whole  civilized 
world  is  in  accord  in  thinking  that  feminine  beauty  allied  with 
nobility  of  soul  is  the  highest  type  of  creation.  Without  virtue, 
however,  it  shrinks,  even  in  the  estimation  of  the  crowd,  to  the 
level  of  the  pedestal  upon  which  it  might  stand  peerless. 

In  the  study  of  anatomy,  we  begin  with  the  bones  of  the 
human  frame;  first  considered  separately,  and  then  as  articu- 
lated in  the  skeleton.  To  the  bones  the  muscles  are  attached. 

It  ought  to  be  evident  that  beauty  of  head  and  face  largely 
depends  upon  the  contour  of  their  bones.  A  head  gently  curved 
from  side  to  side,  and  lengthwise,  constitutes  the  basis  of  other 
pleasing  symmetry.  The  forehead,  whether  high  or  low,  should 
deviate  but  little  from  the  perpendicular.  Beauty  of  face  depends 
most  largely  upon  the  size  and  shape  of  the  nose.  The  substruc- 
ture of  the  nose  consists  of  bone  and  cartilage.  Two  thin,  flat 
bones  are  connected  with  each  other  in  the  middle  line  of  the 
nose;  and  above  with  the  bone  of  the  forehead.  The  apertures 
of  the  nostrils  are  surrounded  by  flexible  cartilages,  which 
become  continuous  with  a  similar  plate  dividing  the  cavity  of 
the  nose  into  two  corresponding  halves.  A  nose  out  of  propor- 
tion to  the  size  of  the  face  seriously  mars  the  effect  of  the 
brightest  eyes  and  best  possible  mouth,  teeth,  and  complexion. 
Too  small,  it  gives  insignificance  to  the  expression  of  the  face; 
too  large,  it  presents  the  grotesqueness  of  a  mask.  Two  typical 
forms  of  nose  are  recognized  as  noble — the  Greek  and  the 
Roman.  The  former  leaves  the  forehead  at  only  a  slight  angle, 
and  continues  straight  to  the  tip;  the  latter  boldly  curves  from 
the  forehead  to  the  tip.  Between  these  two,  which  are  never 
broad,  lie  an  infinite  variety  of  nasal  forms  in  curve  and  breadth, 
from  the  comic  snub-nose  to  that  which  the  French  call  retrousse, 


44  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

slightly  curved  inward  and  turned  up,  appropriate  to  the  liveli- 
ness of  the  soubrette,  but  not  to  the  highest  elegance  and  nobility 
of  the  female  face.  Pug  and  snub  noses  always  possess  the 
comic  element.  A  slightly  tilted  nose  is,  however,  not  displeas- 
ing, when  otherwise  well  formed,  and  this  is  the  typical  nc% 
retrousse  of  the  French,  the  nose  that  Tennyson  calls  "tip- 
tilted." 

A  very  common  defect  in  the  expression  of  the  face  is  the 
bending  of  the  tip  of  the  nose  towards  one  or  the  other  side  of 
the  face.  Obviously,  a  very  important  factor  in  the  general 
expression  of  the  face  lies  in  the  nose  being  neither  too  long  nor 
too  short.  From  its  prominent  position,  it  is,  of  all  the  features, 
the  one  most  liable  to  injury,  especially  in  the  "male  sex,  which, 
from  fights  of  school-boy  days,  through  more  out-door  experi- 
ence than  that  of  women,  incurs  more  than  they  this  liability, 
which,  in  women,  is  in  much  less  degree  chiefly  reserved  for 
accidents  of  various  sorts  in  carriage,  automobile,  and  car. 
Michael  Angelo's  nose  was  broken  by  a  hammer  in  the  hands  of 
an  irate  fellow-student  of  art.  Thackeray's  nose  was  badly 
broken.  During  his  visit  to  this  country,  one  of  his  literary 
entertainers  who  was  similarly  afflicted  once  held  forth  on  the 
subject  of  love,  when  Thackeray  exclaimed,  "Why  should  two 
broken-nosed  old  fellows  like  you  and  me  talk  about  love?" 

The  eye  must  be  esteemed  the  most  striking  and  beautiful 
feature  of  the  face.  Placed,  by  internal  relations,  in  close  con- 
nection with  the  brain,  it  has  been  well  called  the  mirror  of  the 
soul.  The  eye  well  seated  in  its  socket,  neither  sunken  nor  un- 
duly prominent,  the  lids  well  fringed  with  lashes,  expresses  every 
emotion,  is  capable  of  kindling  or  softening  with  every  thought 
that  passes  through  the  mind.  It  is  beautiful  alike  in  the  expres- 
sion of  meditation,  mirth,  pity,  and  love.  It  not  infrequently 
anticipates  or  contradicts  the  spoken  word,  and  has  its  own 
laugh,  independent  of  the  general  expression  of  the  face.  Its 
sparkle  illuminates  the  jest,  its  gaze  expresses  sternness  or  reso- 
lution, its  gleam  betokens  anger,  and  may  betray  a  disordered 


THE    ELEMENTS   OF   BEAUTY    AND   GRACE.  45 

intellect.  In  persons  of  lively  temperament,  it  glances  in  quick 
response  to  the  emotions.  In  persons  of  sluggish  temperament, 
it  is  comparatively  unresponsive.  Persons  of  undaunted  reso- 
lution are  characterized  by  eyes  which  enforce  obedience.  They 
reveal  immediately  the  habit  of  command.  The  numerous  epi- 
thets that  have  been  applied  to  this  feature  testify  to  the  general 
recognition  of  variety  in  its  expression — penetrating,  hawk-like, 
eagle,  sparkling,  cunning,  dove-like,  and  a  host  of  others.  A 
person  possessed  of  fine  eyes  has  at  least  one  attribute  of  beauty. 
They  may  not  be  noted  on  all  occasions,  but,  when  animated,  as- 
sert their  value  in  expression. 

The  mouth  certainly  comes  next  to  the  eyes  as  an  expres- 
sive feature.  The  lips  should  meet  gently  and  evenly  to  form 
the  angles  which  have  been  likened  to  Cupid's  bow.  Oliver 
Wendell  Holmes  says,  that  a  gentleman  should  be  calm-mouthed. 
It  follows,  of  course,  that  a  gentlewoman  also  should  be. 
Nothing  can  be  more  distasteful  in  manners  than  a  girl's  mouth- 
ing in  conversation  so  as  to  show  her  palate,  or  than  her  chew- 
ing gum  in  public.  The  natural  color  of  the  lips,  when  the  gen- 
eral system  of  the  body  is  perfect,  is  vermilion.  Attempts  to 
imitate  this  natural  hue  by  artificial  coloring  are  always  discover- 
able by  daylight.  The  upper  lip  should  be  short,  and  less  full 
than  the  lower  one.  Both  should  be  neither  distinctly  full  nor 
thin;  too  much  fullness  gives  an  effect  of  grossness,  and  too 
little,  of  pinched  meanness.  The  Bourbon  lower  lip,  of  Europe, 
has  been  transmitted  for  many  generations  in  that  family,  and 
is  recognized  by  its  excess  of  fulness. 

The  teeth  contribute  essentially  to  the  beauty,  of  the  mouth, 
and  thereby  to  the  expression  of  the  whole  face.  Decayed  teeth 
ruin  the  appearance  of  a  face  which  might  otherwise  be  very 
presentable.  Although  fine  teeth  are  not  in  themselves  suffi- 
cient to  constitute  beauty,  they  contribute  largely  to  comeliness. 
A  most  unfortunate  protrusion  of  the  upper  jaw  may,  however, 
neutralize  the  good  effect  of  the  handsomest  teeth.  Another 
unpleasant  effect  is  sometimes  produced  by  the  recession  of  the 


46  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

upper  lip  in  smiling,  to  so  great  a  degree  that  the  gums  are  un- 
covered to  their  base.  Of  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-one  school 
children  lately  examined  in  London,  only  one  in  eighteen  was 
found  to  possess  sound  teeth.  Sir  James  Crichton  Browne  has 
directed  attention  to  the  necessity  of  giving  children  harder  food 
than  that  with  which  they  are  generally  furnished  in  England. 
It  is  the  law  of  nature,  that  the  parts  of  the  body  which  are 
habitually  exercised  become  of  greater  size  and  strength;  and 
that  those  which  are  but  little  exercised  become  diminished  in 
size  and  efficiency.  It  is  suggested  that  the  soft  food  upon  which 
we  are  so  largely  living  in  modern  times  has,  by  demanding  less 
work  of  the  teeth,  checked  their  development,  and  that  this  con- 
dition tends  to  be  transmitted  by  inheritance.  It  has  been  as- 
serted that  brown  bread,  on  account  of  its  containing  bran,  is  of 
much  more  nutritive  value  for  the  teeth  than  white  bread  is. 
The  enamel  of  the  teeth  contains  fluorine,  and  this  element  is 
present  in  the  outer  envelope  of  grain.  To  preserve  the  teeth, 
they  should  be  carefully  brushed  and  have  passed  between  them 
a  silk  thread.  Thus,  accumulation  of  tartar  and  incipient  decay 
may  be  largely  prevented. 

Ears,  important  as  they  are  in  function,  are  usually  of  less 
beauty  than  other  features,  and  are  sometimes  partially  or 
wholly  concealed  by  fashion  in  the  headdress  of  women.  At  the 
same  time,  although  the  rarest  of  fine  attributes,  they  are,  when 
perfect,  very  beautiful.  To  be  so,  they  must  be  small,  sit  close 
to  the  head,  be  finely  curved  on  their  outside  edges  and  in  their 
whorls,  and  end  with  a  tiny  drop.  Nothing  can  be  more  vulgar- 
izing to  the  appearance  than  a  huge,  long  flap  of  flesh,  with  little 
modelling,  ending  with  a  great  lobe  or  drop.  The  ideal  ear,  on 
the  contrary,  gives  the  most  high-bred  effect.  In  the  New  York 
Dusseldorf  Gallery  of  painting  there  was  once  a  picture  where 
Desdemona  sat  near  a  casement,  the  light  from  which  shone 
through  her  translucent  ear,  making  it  look  like  some  delicate 
pink  shell  of  the  ocean. 


THE  ELEMENTS  OF  BEAUTY  AND  GRACE.          47 

Well-shaped  features,  of  course,  form  the  basis  upon  which 
personal  beauty  depends,  but  this  advantage  is  either  decreased  or 
lost  entirely  if  they  are  covered  with  an  unhealthy  skin.  A 
good  complexion  is  so  charming  an  attribute,  that  it  goes  far 
to  compensate  for  irregularity  of  features.  Both  blonde  and 
brunette  have  their  distinctive  charms,  and  it  is  impossible  to 
decide  between  them  as  to  which  is  preferable  on  the  score  of 
beauty.  Fair  beauty  is  associated  in  the  popular  mind  with 
gentleness  and  purity,  and  also,  to  some  degree,  with  fickleness. 
Dark  beauty  is,  on  the  contrary,  associated  in  the  popular  mind 
with  brilliancy  and  force,  and  with  greater  stability.  There  is 
a  type  known  among  hair-dressers  as  ash-blonde.  The  skin  is 
fair,  the  color  good,  but  not  high,  the  hair  and  eyes  light,  having 
a  certain  tawny  tint.  In  the  various  types  of  female  beauty  at 
their  best,  the  observer  may  well  find  himself  perplexed  to  de- 
cide which  is  supreme,  and  will  conclude  at  last  as  to  their  compe- 
tition, that  a  verdict  is  impossible.  The  color  of  the  skin  is 
generally  associated  with  the  color  of  the  eyes  and  hair.  There 
are  exceptions,  but  they  are  rare.  Preference  is  frequently 
directed  by  admiration  of  opposite  traits.  The  Latin  races  show 
marked  predilection  for  persons  possessed  of  fair  attributes  in 
skin,  hair,  and  eyes,  far  removed  from  their  own  correspond- 
ing darker  traits. 

The  chin  cannot  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  principal  ele- 
ments in  comeliness,  and  yet  upon  its  size  and  outline  depends 
a  good  deal  in  the  matter  of  looks.  A  great,  heavy,  elongated 
chin  and  a  short,  meager  one  are,  each  in  its  way,  unsightly. 
The  chin-bone  consists  of  two  bones  which  have  become  con- 
solidated in  the  middle.  At  each  side  of  the  face,  about  an  inch 
below  the  lobe  of  the  ear,  can  be  felt  the  angle  of  the  jaw.  The 
line  in  the  middle  of  the  chin,  at  which  the  two  halves  of  the 
jaw  join,  is  called  the  symphysis,  from  two  Greek  words  which 
signify  coalescence.  The  angles  of  the  bones  on  each  side,  as 
they  reach  the  symphysis,  form  the  contour  of  the  face  as  seen 
from  the  front.  In  some  persons,  the  lower  border  is  almost 


48  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

a  straight  line,  producing  a  somewhat  square  outline,  expressive 
of  determination,  but  too  harsh  in  expression  for  female  contours. 
Sometimes  the  end  of  the  chin  has  a  decided  protrusion,  which 
is  not  amiss  in  a  man,  but  is  certainly  not  pleasing  in  a  woman. 
On  the  contrary,  the  line  of  the  chin  may  slope  backward,  which 
always  gives  an  appearance  of  weakness  of  character.  More 
rarely,  the  chin  is  peaked. 

The  expression  of  the  face  may  atone  for  great  irregularity 
of  features.  Expression  is  so  far  superior  to  regularity,  that  it 
may  prevent  us  from  perceiving  the  defect  of  irregularity. 
Traits  of  beauty  are  not,  in  some  countries,  more  freely  be- 
stowed upon  those  whose  ancestors  have  been  long  socially  well 
placed  than  upon  those  who  have  but  just  made  their  way  in 
the  world.  In  the  United  States,  owing  to  many  causes,  differ- 
ence in  personal  attributes  among  different  classes  of  society 
has  become  obliterated.  The  progeny  of  people  of  moderate 
circumstances  and  social  position  are  as  likely  to  be  handsome 
and  well  formed  as  that  of  the  richest  and  most  highly  placed. 

A  good  figure,  which  is  the  fashionable  name  for  form, 
having  originated  from  the  social  idea  of  dress,  depends  pri- 
marily upon  the  symmetry  of  the  skeleton,  and  secondarily 
upon  the  proper  distribution  upon  it  of  muscular  and  fatty  tis- 
sue. Strong  muscles  are  needful  for  maintaining  the  spinal 
column  and  shoulders  erect,  thus  giving  a  good  carriage  to  the 
head.  A  weak  condition  of  the  muscles  ensures  round  shoulders 
and  awkwardness  of  movement,  which  together  seriously  detract 
from  any  graces  of  countenance. 

The  conformation  of  head  and  features  may  be  correct, 
the  hair  luxuriant,  and  the  complexion  pure,  yet  a  squint  may 
mar  the  general  effect  of  all  these.  When  the  defect  is  slight, 
it  hardly  deserves  the  name  of  deformity;  it  may,  in  fact,  even 
lend  to  the  face  a  piquant,  not  unpleasant  expression.  But  when 
it  is  extreme,  it  is  very  disfiguring.  To  allow  a  child  to  grow  up 
with  so  serious  a  blemish,  easily  corrected  by  surgical  interfer- 
ence, is  very  reprehensible.  To  the  skilled  oculist,  the  removal  of 


THE   ELEMENTS   OF   BEAUTY   AND   GRACE.  49 

this  defect,  which  is  known  to  him  as  strabismus,  is  attended  with 
scarcely  any  danger,  and  with  the  employment  of  very  little  time. 

Very  ingenious  operations  have  been  devised  in  surgery  for 
the  improvement  of  deformed  noses  and  ears.  If  it  should  prove, 
in  any  case,  not  possible  by  artificial  means  to  remedy  their 
defects  entirely,  the  result  is  always  satisfactory  when  compar- 
ing previous  conditions  of  the  organs  with  those  succeeding  the 
surgical  interference. 

The  mouth  is  sometimes  afflicted  with  a  cleft  known  as 
hare-lip.  The  fissure  is  usually  situated  a  little  to  one  side  or 
the  other  of  the  middle,  a  defect  due  to  failure  in  the  complete 
development  of  the  upper  lip.  Sometimes  a  fissure  is  present 
on  both  sides  of  the  lip,  separated  by  a  central  piece  of  flesh, 
which  varies  in  size,  shape,  and  direction  in  different  cases.  In 
some  cases  a  cleft  is  correspondingly  present  in  the  upper  jaw- 
bone as  well  as  in  the  lip.  Fortunately,  these  complicated  cases 
are  rare.  The  single  hare-lip  is  of  not  infrequent  occurrence, 
and  is  more  common  in  the  male  than  in  the  female  sex.  Hare- 
lip occasions  so  much  mortification  to  its  possessor,  it  is  almost 
incomprehensible  that  children  should  be  allowed  to  become 
adults  without  having  the  defect  removed.  Simple  cases  can  be 
relieved  by  an  operation  which  ought  to  be  performed  during 
infancy.  Eventually  nothing  is  to  be  seen,  in  place  of  the  yawn- 
ing fissure,  but  a  perpendicular  scar.  The  puckered  appearance, 
just  after  the  operation,  soon  smooths  away,  and  improvement 
in  the  appearance  of  the  face  is  extraordinary.  When  the  sub- 
ject, if  a  boy,  reaches  manhood,  he  can  grow  a  mustache,  and  all 
trace  of  the  defect  becomes  imperceptible.  Double  hare-lip  is 
nearly  as  amenable  to  treatment  as  is  the  case  of  single  hare-lip. 
In  that  deformity,  where  the  upper  jawbone  is  implicated,  the 
defect  in  the  lip  may  be  rectified  in  infancy,  but  that  in  the  jaw- 
bone is  better  left  untouched  until  the  subject  has  attained  the 
age  of  twelve  or  fourteen  years.  As  soon  as  the  child  is  old 
enough  thoroughly  to  appreciate  the  usefulness  of  a  metallic 
plate  adapted  to  the  place,  it  will,  when  inserted  by  a  skillful 


5O  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

surgeon,  effect  a  very  marked  improvement  in  the  otherwise 
imperfectly  articulated  speech  of  the  patient. 

Deformity  sometimes  occurs  in  weakly  schoolgirls  from  the 
habit  of  slouching  over  their  desks.  Not  only  do  they  thus  be- 
come round-shouldered,  but,  being  right-handed,  the  muscles 
of  the  right  arm  soon  become  unduly  better  developed  and 
stronger  than  those  of  the  left.  The  muscles  which  pass  between 
the  upper  part  of  the  right  arm,  shoulder,  and  spinal  column 
overcome  the  opposition  which  the  corresponding  structures  of 
the  left  side  should  exert,  as  a  consequence  of  which  the  vertebral 
bones  of  the  upper  part  of  the  back  are  gradually  drawn  towards 
the  right  side.  This  deviation  is  surgically  known  as  lateral 
curvature  of  the  spine.  It  is  seen  in  various  degrees,  from  an 
almost  imperceptible  deflection  to  a  decidedly  curved  and  humped 
shoulder,  so  manifest  that  it  cannot  escape  the  observation  of 
the  most  careless  observer. 

The  production  of  curved  spine  is  promoted,  if  the  bone 
and  muscular  system  is  below  the  normal  standard  of  health. 
About  two-thirds  of  bone  consists  of  mineral  matter  in  the  form 
of  various  salts  of  lime,  with  a  little  magnesia.  In  the  disease 
of  rickets,  these  earthy  salts  are  so  notably  diminished  that  the 
solidity  and  consequent  firmness  of  the  bones  are  sensibly  im- 
paired. It  is  a  disease  which  indicates  insufficient  nutrition,  not 
only  of  the  bones,  but  of  other  parts  of  the  body.  The  muscular 
system  is  correspondingly  weakened,  and  for  this  reason,  addi- 
tional tendency  is  given  to  the  production  of  lateral  curvature  of 
the  spine.  Weak  bones  and  lax  muscles  together  conspire  to  the 
same  end.  Poor  blood,  from  poor  quality  of  diet,  lack  of  exercise 
in  the  open  air,  sitting  with  a  stoop  for  hours  daily,  tight  lacing, 
may  eventually  produce  lateral  curvature  of  the  spine.  What- 
ever interferes  with  the  proper  growth  of  muscles  may  be  a 
source  of  the  affection,  and,  on  account  of  general  difference  of 
habits  in  exercise,  girls  are  vastly  more  than  boys  subject  to  this 
disease. 


THE   ELEMENTS   OF   BEAUTY   AND   GRACE.  51 

When  the  disease  exists  to  a  moderate  degree,  it  is  evi- 
denced chiefly  by  general  debility.  Symmetry  of  form  is  lost, 
and  recourse  is  had  to  the  art  of  the  dressmaker  to  conceal  the 
defect.  This  is  the  stage  at  which  appropriate  treatment  should 
be  instituted.  The  most  efficient  treatment  consists  in  system- 
atically training  the  weak  muscles  of  one  side  to  oppose  more 
vigorously  their  stronger  fellows  of  the  other  side.  The  physi- 
cian can  outline  a  course  of  calisthenics  by  which  the  form  of 
the  opposing  muscles  may  tend  to  be  equalized.  In  case  a  rick- 
etty  condition  be  present,  medicinal  preparations  containing  lime 
are  indicated,  as  well  as  tonics  to  improve  the  appetite  and  diges- 
tion of  the  patient.  If  allowed  to  proceed  unchecked,  the  rota- 
tion of  the  spinal  column  to  one  side  results  in  sad  distortion 
to  the  figure.  It  likewise  produces  serious  impairment  of  the 
general  health  and  ultimately  destroys  beauty  in  facial  expres- 
sion. The  malposition  of  the  spinal  cord  affects  its  nutrition  and 
its  influence  upon  the  heart,  lungs,  and  digestive  organs.  The 
face  becomes  pale  and  assumes  an  anxious  expression. 

Well-developed  muscles  hold  the  body  erect  and  render  its 
movements  easy.  Muscular  masses,  admirable  in  the  athlete, 
must,  in  the  interest  of  beauty  of  form  in  the  female  sex,  be 
concealed  by  fatty  tissue.  As  a  well-proportioned  female  form 
is  largely  dependent  upon  the  amount  of  adipose  tissue  that  it 
possesses,  it  is  important  for  women  to  know  how  they  can  con- 
trol the  amount  of  that  tissue  in  the  interest  of  their  looks.  The 
activity  of  childhood  generally  prevents  any  undue  accumula- 
tion of  fat  during  that  period.  The  materials  capable  of  pro- 
ducing that  tissue  are  then  generally  consumed  in  the  production 
of  energy.  The  sports  of  youth  strengthen,  enlarge,  and  solidify 
the  muscular  system.  At  the  approach  of  womanhood,  the  bony 
protuberances  and  irregular  muscular  masses  of  the  person  are 
overlaid  by  a  cushion  of  soft,  elastic  fat.  To  maintain  shapeli- 
ness, the  amount  of  this  deposit  must  have  nice  relation  to  the 
size  of  the  person.  Superabundance  of  adipose  tissue  is  more 
destructive  of  personal  beauty  than  is  any  amount  of  leanness; 


52  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

and,  besides,  the  lean  generally  have  the  advantage  over  others 
of  sprightliness  of  mind  and  activity  of  the  body.  The  posi- 
tively corpulent  of  either  sex  are  often  sluggish  in  mind,  un- 
graceful and  even  clumsy  in  movement,  and  the  features,  sur- 
charged with  fat,  heavy  in  expression. 

Leanness  is  more  compatible  with  health,  even  extreme 
leanness,  than  is  fatness  far  short  of  corpulence.  Leanness,  how- 
ever, should  be  carefully  distinguished  from  emaciation,  which 
is  evidence  of  waste  in  both  muscular  and  fatty  tissue.  There 
have  been  fashions  in  female  beauty.  In  the  early  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century  the  fragile  beauty  was  in  vogue,  who  fainted 
at  an  odor,  who  played,  and  sometimes  it  was  only  played,  the 
part  of  a  creature  of  sweet  sensibility.  That  day  is  past,  and  we 
now  have  in  her  stead  the  woman  of  reasonable  muscular  de- 
velopment and  vigor.  It  is  from  the  standpoint  of  her  needs 
that  all  is  said  herein  written.  Macaulay  says,  in  one  of  his 
essays,  that  he  once  amused  himself  by  counting  how  many  times 
the  heroine  of  a  certain  old-fashioned  novel  fainted.  He  might 
have  gone  farther,  and  have  counted  how  many  times  she  said 
"La,  Mr.  Jones!"  when  she  was  terribly  shocked.  But  she  is 
dead  now,  peace  be  to  her  ashes,  if  she  was  material  enough  to 
make  any!  The  present  one  is  of  a  very  different  type,  afford- 
ing, moreover,  pleasant  variety.  So  great  is  it  now  that  it  is 
reconcilable  with  Lord  Houghton's  lines: — 

"And  from  beauty  passed  to  beauty 
Constant  to  a  constant  change." 

Features,  in  themselves  amenable  to  criticism,  may  be  com- 
bined with  unexceptional  expression.  In  George  Eliot's  "Daniel 
Deronda"  we  have  presented  a  description  of  a  fascinating 
woman  with  long,  narrow,  green  eyes,  retrousse  nose,  and  sway- 
ing neck,  and  withal,  thin.  Those  who  are  decidedly  thin  natur- 
ally wish  to  gain  flesh;  those  who  are  too  stout,  to  lose  it. 
Brillat  Savarin  says  that  to  possess  just  the  right  amount  of 
embonpoint  is  the  thought  of  women's  lives.  It  is  not,  however, 


THE   ELEMENTS   OF    BEAUTY   AND   GRACE.  53 

so  difficult  to  attain  this  as  many  of  them  believe;  but,  alas,  in 
the  case  of  reducing  fat,  it  requires  some  resolution  and  self- 
denial  !  If  a  woman  who  has  too  much  adipose  tissue  will  per- 
sist in  inertness  and  addiction  to  certain  kinds  of  food,  her  case 
is  hopeless  of  remedy. 

Habits  of  exercise,  diet,  and  bathing  may  be  so  regulated 
as  to  reduce  the  amount  of  fatty  tissue  in  the  body,  or,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  increase  it;  although  the  former  is  by  far  the 
easier  task,  and  may,  indeed,  be  regarded  as  relatively  quite 
simple.  Strenuous  activity  of  body  and  mind,  and  constant 
anxiety,  prevent  accumulation  of  fat.  Therefore,  those  who 
wish  to  gain  flesh  should  cultivate,  as  far  as  possible,  serenity. 
In  real  trouble,  this  is,  of  course,  impossible  as  to  results,  but 
there  is  a  large  margin  in  the  occupation  of  human  mentality 
which  is  pure  waste  in  the  form  of  worry.  This  unnecessary 
strain  'avoided,  and  due  regard  being  had  to  proper  food  and 
sleep  and  exercise,  all  is  done  for  the  lean  that  can  be  effected. 
But  it  is  very  different  as  to  the  fat. 

Obesity,  fatness  beyond  certain  bounds,  is  really  a  disease. 
It  is  not  that  degree  of  fatness  to  which  reference  is  chiefly 
made  here.  Excessive  deposit  of  fat  which  we  perceive  upon 
the  exterior  of  the  body  is  also  present  in  the  interior,  and  me- 
chanically embarrasses  the  action  of  various  internal  organs. 
The  heart  is  surrounded  by  a  mass  of  fat,  and  its  function  is 
signally  impaired.  Respiration  is  retarded,  and  thus  the  process 
of  oxidation  of  the  blood  is  impeded.  The  liver  is  inactive,  and 
substances  which  it  should  excrete  remain  in  the  organism  of  the 
body  to  its  detriment.  Exertion  becomes  laborious.  The  me- 
chanical compression  of  the  heart  by  a  fatty  cushion  is  finally 
succeeded  by  a  diseased  condition  of  the  organ,  known  as  "fatty 
degeneration."  This  tendency  to  obesity  should  be  checked  by 
increased  exercise,  careful  selection  of  food,  and  massage. 
Massage  removes  fat  to  a  certain  extent,  and  strengthens  the 
muscular  system.  The  practice  consists  of  four  movements: 
friction,  percussion,  pressure,  and  movement.  When  pressure 


54  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

and  movement  are  combined,  the  action  is  known  as  deep  knead- 
ing or  rubbing.  Each  move  produces  its  own  specific  effect,  so 
that  the  best  results  are  produced  by  a  combination  of  the  move- 
ments. Hearty  eaters  should  place  a  curb  on  their  appetites  as 
to  amount  and  quality  of  foods.  Saccharine  and  farinaceous, 
that  is,  sugary  and  starchy  foods,  are  to  be  avoided.  Fat  meat, 
cream,  unskimmed  milk,  butter,  vegetables,  oils,  nuts,  fat  fish, 
sweet  fruits,  should  be  taken  in  diminishing  quantities.  The  use 
of  malt  liquors  and  chocolates  must  be  entirely  abandoned.  The 
diet  should  be  composed  of  lean  meat,  poultry,  game,  eggs, 
green  vegetables  (but  not  green  peas,  which  are  very  fattening), 
acid  fruits.  The  effect  of  such  a  diet,  following  an  unrestricted 
one,  is  very  evident  within  a  short  time ;  a  person  of  a  hundred 
and  eighty  pounds  weight  adopting  it  sometimes  loses  two 
pounds  within  twenty-four  hours.  Mr.  Banting,  of  England, 
who  was  a  very  short  man,  and  who  was  so  afflicted  with  obesity 
that  he  had  to  go  down  stairs  backward,  reduced  his  weight, 
in  about  a  year's  time,  from  two  hundred  and  two  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty-six  pounds.  There  has  been  difference  of  opinion 
about  the  use  of  many  liquids.  According  to  some  authorities, 
liquids  generally  are  disallowed.  Free  allowance  of  water  may, 
however,  be  looked  upon  as  useful  in  the  treatment,  by  pro- 
moting digestion  and  the  oxidation  of  the  blood. 

Persistent  care  of  the  person,  aided  by  due  attention  to  the 
toilet,  can  effect  wonders  for  personal  appearance.  Many  a 
girl  in  the  first  bloom  of  youth,  endowed  with  charming  physical 
attributes,  has  speedily,  under  the  influence  of  hard  work,  coarse 
food,  and  unrefined  surroundings,  lost  all  her  physical  charms. 
Prosperity  and  satisfied  affections  tend  to  promote  and  main- 
tain beauty  in  both  sexes. 

When  we  use  the  term  personal  beauty  we  usually  think 
of  female  attributes,  although  there  are  exceptions  to  that  in 
both  nature  and  art.  The  statue  of  the  Apollo  Belvidere  is  con- 
sidered as  beautiful  for  the  male  sex  as  the  Venus  de  Medici 
is  for  the  female  one.  The  years  between  the  eighteenth  and 


THE   ELEMENTS   OF   BEAUTY   AND    GRACE.  55 

twenty-fifth  are  those  during  which,  in  this  country,  female 
loveliness  is  usually  considered  to  be  at  its  height.  In  warmer 
climates  the  range  is  between  earlier  years.  The  truth  is,  how- 
ever, that  each  period  of  life  has  its  characteristic  charm,  unless, 
indeed,  persons  of  the  opposite  sexes  reach  the  condition  of  the 
crone  or  the  lean  and  slippered  pantaloon. 

In  infancy,  at  the  dawn  of  life,  the  child,  when  perfect  in 
infantile  form  and  features,  has  a  signal  beauty  of  its  own.  The 
skin  of  a  well-nourished,  healthy  baby  is  so  fine  and  soft,  its  flesh 
so  firm,  its  face  so  delicately  dimpled,  its  hands  and  feet  so  dainty, 
that  no  well-constituted  mind  can  deny  it  the  meed  of  beauty 
of  its  special  kind.  The  great  artists  of  religious  paintings  have 
shown  in  their  works  thorough  appreciation  of  its  loveliness. 
The  first  few  years  of  childhood  have  also  their  special  charm, 
from  the  toddling  creatures  to  those  grown  to  prattling  in  the 
newness  of  their  world.  The  animated  faces  and  gaiety  of 
youth  come  in  turn  to  gladden  the  eye.  The  maiden  especially 
has  been  the  theme  of  poets  for  generations,  to  none  appealing 'in 
her  innocence  more  than  to  Wordsworth,  where  he  says: 

"She  was  a  phantom  of  delight 
When  first  she  gleamed  upon  my  sight; 
A  lovely  apparition,  sent 
To  be  a  moment's  ornament; 
Her  eyes  as  stars  of  twilight  fair, 
Like  twilight's,  too,  her  dusky  hair; 
But  all  things  else  about  her  drawn 
From  May-time  and  the  cheerful  dawn: 
A  dancing  shape,  an  image  gay, 
To  haunt,  to  startle,  and  waylay. 
A  perfect  woman,  nobly  planned, 
To  warn,  to  comfort,  and  command; 
And  yet  a  spirit  still  and  bright, 
With  something  of  an  angel  light." 

Tennyson,  too,  among  modern  poets,  has  given  us  a  pic- 
ture of  a  maiden  when,  amidst  flowers,  a  shadow  falls  about 
her  waist : — 


56  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

"Ah,  happy  shade — and  still  went  wavering  down, 
But,  ere  it  touched  a  foot  that  might  have  danced 
The  greensward  into  greener  circles,  dipt, 
And  mixed  with  shadows  of  the  common  ground! 
But  the  full  day  dwelt  on  her  brows  and  sunn'd 
Her  violet  eyes,  and  all  her  Hebe  bloom, 
And  doubled  his  own  warmth  against  her  lips, 
And  on  the  bounteous  wave  of  such  a  breast 
As  never  pencil  drew.     Half  light,  half  shade, 
She  stood,  a  sight  to  make  an  old  man  young." 

Mother  Eve  we  always  seem  to  think  of,  because  one  of 
the  progenitors  of  the  race  of  men,  exclusively  as  a  matron  in 
age  and  dignity  of  carriage;  but  she  is  not  so  portrayed  in 
Milton's  picture  of  her:  — 

"Under  his  forming  hands  a  picture  grew, 
Manlike,  but  different  sex,  so  lovely  fair, 
That  what  seemed  fair  in  all  the  world,  seemed  now 
Mean;   or  in  her  summed  up,  in  her  contained, 
And  in  her  looks,  which  from  that  time  infused 
Sweetness  into  my  heart,  unfelt  before, 
And  into  all  things  from  her  air  inspired 
The  spirit  of  love  and  amorous  delight. 
She  disappeared,  and  left  me  dark ;  I  waked 
To  find  her,  or  for  ever  to  deplore 
Her  loss  and  other  pleasures  all  abjure. 
Grace  was  in  all  her  steps,  Heaven  in  her  eye, 
In  every  gesture,  dignity  and  love." 

But  beauty  of  form  and  face  is  not  reserved  for  maiden- 
hood. Matronly  beauty  is  also  recognized  by  artists  as  being 
sometimes  of  the  highest  type,  and  even  old  age,  short  of  decrep- 
itude, may  present  a  beauty  of  its  own  in  nobility  and  majesty 
of  countenance,  or  in  the  expression  of  the  serenity  which  befits 
the  decline  of  life. 

The  mistake  sometimes,  but  rarely,  committed  by  men,  but 
frequently  by  women,  is  in  attempting  by  dress  and  other  devices 
to  look  younger  than  they  really  are.  If  such  could  only  be 


THE   ELEMENTS   OF    BEAUTY   AND   GRACE.  57 

brought  to  realize  that  no  devices  are  possible  to  conceal  the 
changes  of  time,  they  would  save  themselves  much  labor  and 
mortification.  If  they  would  only  realize  that  each  age  has  its 
own  best  manner  and  dress,  that  the  changes  brought  about  by 
time  are  not  necessarily  ravages,  but  are  as  natural  as  being  born, 
and  are  those  to  which  they  should  extraneously  conform,  they 
would  feel  younger,  be  younger,  and  would  be  happier,  than  in 
attempting  false  pretences  which  never  deceive  'themselves  or 
others.  A  matronly  face  surmounted  by  a  girl's  hat,  or  a 
matronly  form  corsetted  in  an  attempt  to  imitate  a  girlish  figure, 
are  as  perceptible  in  their  pretense  to  even  the  casual  observer,  as 
anything  that  may  arrest  his  glance,  and  not  less  the  affectation 
of  youthfulness  accompanying  the  dress.  On  the  contrary, 
the  matron  as  the  old  lady,  appropriately  gowned  and  mannered, 
has  charms  especially  belonging  to  her  time  of  life,  which  not 
even  youth  can  exceed  or  more  than  rival.  A  refined  face  of 
either  sex,  grown  mature  amid  the  lessons  of  life  in  hope,  love, 
sorrow,  duty,  has  a  beauty  bordering  on  the  supernal,  and  therein 
lies  its  charm. 


CHAPTER     VI. 
WORLD  INFLUENCE  OF  WOMAN'S  CHARMS. 

TT  has  been  reserved  for  one  of  the  follies  of  modern  thought 
•*•  to  assert  and  to  maintain  that,  if  women  should  come  to  rule 

the  world,  it  would  be  better  than  ever  heretofore.  Such  a 
belief  is  one  of  the  wildest  assumptions,  not  only  not  borne  out  by 
everyday  experience,  but  positively  contradicted  .by  the  history 
of  ancient,  mediaeval,  and  modern  times.  The  exact  truth,  known 
from  experience,  is,  that  men  and  women  are  equally  capable  of 
virtue  and  of  depravity;  that  virtue  and  vice  lie  in  the  indi- 
vidual, irrespective  of  sex;  that  they  tend  to  be  promoted,  re- 
tarded, or  checked,  as  the  case  may  be,  by  the  myriad  circum- 
stances involving  life  through  the  influences  which  pervade  it 
from  the  cradle  to  the  grave. 

Homer,  who  lived  at  least  nine  centuries  before  the  Christian 
era,  takes  us  back,  in  his  epic  poem  of  the  Iliad,  to  the  earliest 
known  history  of  an  illicit  love  that  affected  the  course  of 
empire.  The  Trojan,  Paris,  one  of  King  Priam's  sons,  carried 
off  the  Greek,  Helen,  wife  of  Menelaus,  King  of  Sparta.  The 
poem  is,  of  course,  fable,  but  based  on  fact.  In  the  territory  of 
the  Troad,  forty  miles  long  by  as  many  broad,  overlooked  by  Mt. 
Ida,  in  the  northwest  angle  of  Asia  Minor,  the  Greeks'  long  siege 
of  Troy,  for  ten  years,  was  pushed,  until  the  city,  with  the  faith- 
less wife,  was  captured.  A  duel  occurred  between  the  wronged 
husband  and  Paris,  a  duel  between  Hector,  a  brother  of  Paris, 
and  Achilles;  and  other  single  combats  and  various  battles,  in 
which  some  of  the  gods  had  so  intimate  an  interest  as  often  to 
take  part.  The  site  of  the  comparatively  late  excavations  of  Dr. 
Schliemann,  revealing  an  ancient  town  which  he  supposes  to  have 
been  Troy,  do  not  agree  with  Homer's  account  of  the  beetling 
loftiness  of  the  city.  But  the  question  is  apart  from  the  matter 
here,  which  simply  is,  that,  in  the  earliest  times,  the  flight  of  a 
58 


WORLD    INFLUENCE    OF    WOMAN  S    CHARMS.  59 

beautiful  woman  with  her  paramour  was  the  cause  of  the  band- 
ing together  of  the  various  sovereignties  of  Greece,  under 
Agamemnon,  the  so-called  "king  of  men,"  the  brother  of  Mene- 
laus,  to  recover  the  unchaste  woman,  and  to  wreak  vengeance 
on  her  abductor  and  protectors. 

At  a  much  later  date,  when  we  come  within  the  distinctively 
historical  period,  the  age  of  Pericles,  in  the  fifth  century  before 
Christ,  the  time  when  Athens,  under  the  wise  administration  of 
Pericles,  rose  to  the  highest  point  of  her  greatness,  we  find  that 
he  divorced  his  wife  in  favor  of  the  hetaira,  Aspasia,  with  whom 
he  lived  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  She  was  the  most  intellectual 
woman  and  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  her  time;  but  one  who, 
not  being  Greek,  was  to  the  Greek  of  the  period,  a  barbarian, 
and,  as  such,  unmarriageable  by  a  Greek.  She  was  so  wonder- 
fully gifted  in  mind,  and  so  well-informed,  that  even  Socrates 
did  not  disdain  intercourse  with  her  among  the  persons  who 
thronged  to  the  house  of  Pericles  to  acquire  knowledge  from 
her  lips.  To  the  class  of  hetaira,  the  nearest  modern  approach  is 
that  of  the  demi-monde,  of  Paris.  The  demi-monde,  however, 
has  not  with  it  equal  excuse  for  dissolute  life,  for  the  hetaira 
were  recognized  in  those  heathen  times  as  forming  a  class  to 
which  was  attached  no  particular  disgrace.  Highly  endowed 
physically,  and  cultivated  in  mind  and  manners,  their  mission 
was  ministration  to  the  amusement  of  men;  slaves  they  were, 
one  might  almost  say,  to  circumstances  over  which  they  had  not 
full  control,  and,  as  such,  they  may  be  regarded  as  comparatively 
innocent. 

Coming  to  an  episode  closely  bordering  in  time  upon  the 
Christian  era,  we  reach  the  most  remarkable  influence  of  a 
woman  upon  men  generally  to  be  found  in  history.  Cleopatra, 
the  Serpent  of  the  Nile,  as  she  has  been  called,  was  a  woman 
intellectual,  highly  educated,  and  sensual.  With  a  lot  cast  in 
Egypt,  amidst  depraved  family  surroundings,  and  internal  as 
well  as  external  difficulties  of  reign,  so  consummate  were  her 
talents,  her  acquirements,  and  her  personal  charm,  so  unscrupu- 


60  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

lously  did  she  use  all  means  at  her  disposal  for  the  maintenance 
of  herself  in  power,  that  nothing  but  untoward  circumstances, 
which  she  could  not  control,  led  at  last  to  her  overthrow  and 
suicide.  When  it  is  said  that  she  had  charm  which  only  one 
man,  Augustus  Caesar,  seems  to  have  resisted,  it  does  not  imply 
that  she  was  beautiful.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that,  although 
handsome,  she  was  not  beautiful.  What  she  possessed  in  the 
supremest  degree,  is  what  the  French  aptly  call  le  charmc,  the 
wholly  unanalyzable  power  of  attraction  with  which  some  few 
mortals  are  gifted.  Shakespeare  best  explains  its  manifestation 
in  her  when  he  says  that  "age  could  not  wither  nor  custom  stale 
her  infinite  variety."  Caius  Julius  Caesar  first  met  her  when  he 
was  in  pursuit  of  Pompey  in  flight  to  Egypt.  But  he  was  too 
great  a  man  to  come  under  her  dominion.  He  took  her  to  Rome, 
to  the  great  displeasure  of  its  citizens.  Much  later,  after  the 
assassination  of  the  great  Caesar,  Marcus  Antonius,  or,  as  we  call 
him,  Mark  Antony,  who  was  of  entirely  different  fiber,  became 
her  veritable  slave.  After  the  assassination  of  Caesar,  Octavius, 
afterwards  known  as  Augustus  Caesar,  Mark  Antony,  and 
Lepidus  divided  the  Roman  Empire  among  them,  Mark  Antony 
marrying  Octavia,  Augustus  Caesar's  sister.  Antony,  however, 
within  his  apportionment,  the  Empire  of  the  East,  soon  fell 
away  from  Augustus,  and  deserted  Octavia  in  favor  of  Cleo- 
patra. Long  before  that,  Cleopatra  had  made  his  acquaintance, 
rowed  up  the  river  Cyndus,  in  Syria,  reclining  in  a  gorgeous 
galley  of  many  banks  of  oars,  amidst  music  and  flowers,  a  scene 
which  has  often  been  pictured.  At  the  sea-fight  of  Actium,  one 
of  the  turning  battles  of  the  world,  Cleopatra  fled  in  her  galley, 
followed  by  Antony,  when  the  result  of  the  control  for  the 
world's  supremacy  was  still  doubtful.  The  scene  soon  afterwards 
closed  on  both.  Cleopatra,  faithless  even  to  Antony,  vainly 
attempted  to  subdue  Augustus  to  her  charm,  and  the  curtain  fell 
upon  the  scene  by  the  suicide  of  both  ignoble  lovers. 

John  Churchill,  Duke  of  Marlborough,  A.  D.    1650-1722, 
is  recognized  as  among  the  very  highest  of  the  second  order 


WORLD   INFLUENCE    OF    WOMAN^S    CHARMS.  6l 

of  great  generals:  Hannibal,  Caesar,  and  Napoleon  being  of 
the  first.  His  wife,  the  Duchess,  was  Sarah  Jennings,  a  woman 
of  remarkable  talent  and  energy.  The  times  were  politically 
scheming  and  traitorous,  and  both  were  not  among  the  least 
who  plied  the  acts  of  treachery  to  their  own  aggrandizement. 
So  great  ascendency  was  acquired  and  long  maintained  by  the 
Duchess  over  Queen  Anne,  of  England,  that  it  amounted  to 
tyranny,  which  she,  at  last,  carried  to  so  great  lengths,  that  she 
lost  place  and  power  at  court.  To  the  Duchess's  talents  and 
imperious  conduct  are  justly  ascribed  much  as  to  both  the  rise 
and  the  fall  of  the  Duke  of  Marlborough's  ambition.  She  was 
true  to  him  to  and  beyond  the  end,  spending  the  last  days  of 
her  life  in  seeking  to  vindicate  his  memory. 

In  the  reign  of  Napoleon  two  women  appear,  of  very  differ- 
ent stamp  from  those  previously  mentioned;  of  influence,  but 
of  no  direct  influence  with  the  ruling  power — quite  the  re- 
verse. Madame  de  Stae'l  and  Napoleon  heartily  disliked  each 
other.  Madame  de  Stae'l  was  exiled,  and  her  intimate  friend, 
Madame  Recamier  was  also  exiled.  Of  Madame  de  Stae'l,  as 
thinker  and  writer,  Napoleon  did  not  approve.  When  Napoleon 
sought  to  give  his  imperial  surroundings  the  brilliancy  of  good 
society,  he  tried  to  attach  Madame  Recamier  as  lady-in-waiting 
to  the  court,  but  she  declined  the  honor.  She  was  the  most 
beautiful  woman  of  her  day,  and  in  addition  to  the  charms  of 
her  person  had  so  amiable  a  disposition  that  she  attracted  every 
one  who  came  within  range  of  her  acquaintance.  Nothing  is 
more  frank  and  outspoken  than  the  verdict  of  the  typical  boy 
upon  everything  within  and  beyond  his  comprehension,  and 
Madame  Recamier  herself  tells  us,  that  when  her  beauty  was 
on  the  wane,  she  knew  it  well,  because  the  gamins  of  Paris  no 
longer  crowded  near  to  gaze  upon  her.  Madame  d'Hautefeuille 
says  of  Madame  Recamier :  "To  be  beloved  was  the  history  of 
Madame  Recamier.  Beloved  by  all  in  her  youth  for  her  aston- 
ishing beauty;  beloved  by  all  for  her  gentleness,  her  inexhaust- 
ible kindness,  for  the  charm  of  a  character  which  was  reflected 


62  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

in  her  sweet  face;  beloved  for  the  tender  and  sympathizing 
friendship  which  she  awarded  with  an  exquisite  tact  and  dis- 
crimination of  heart;  beloved  by  old  and  young,  small  and 
great ;  by  women,  even  women,  so  fastidious  where  other  women 
are  concerned ;  beloved  always  and  by  all  from  her  cradle  to  the 
grave,  such  was  the  lot,  such  will  be  the  renown,  of  this  charm- 
ing woman!" 

One  might  go  on  indefinitely  with  citation  of  cases  where 
women  have  influenced,  sometimes  for  good,  sometimes  for  evil, 
the  course  of  society,  of  politics,  and  the  destiny  of  empires. 
The  most  flag-rant  of  modern  times,  in  the  direction  of  evil,  was 
that  during  the  reign  of  the  mistress-ridden  Louis  XV,  where 
Madame  de  Pompadour,  one  of  his  many  female  satellites,  even 
brought  about  war,  because  Frederick  the  Great  of  Prussia  had 
characterized  her  by  the  name  which  she  deserved.  The  evil 
of  that  reign  did  not,  indeed,  cease  with  the  death  of  the  King, 
but  went  ever  onward  to  its  culmination  in  the  French  Revolu- 
tion. It  was  not  always,  as  has  been  intimated,  that  the  influ- 
ence of  woman  has  been  injurious  to  government.  Let  us  look 
back  for  a  moment  to  the  wonderful  woman,  Theodora,  who 
lived  in  the  fifth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  and  reigned,  con- 
jointly with  her  husband,  Justinian,  for  many  years  over  the 
Byzantine  Empire. 

Theodora  was  a  daughter  of  Acacius,  a  bear-feeder  of  the 
amphitheatre  at  Constantinople,  of  the  faction  of  the  city  called 
"the  blues."  Doubtless  her  early  life  was  dissolute,  it  could 
hardly  have  been  otherwise  on  the  stage  of  the  Byzantine  Empire. 
Procopius  gives  her  a  bad  character  in  this  respect,  but  there 
is  reason  to  believe  that  his  account  of  her  is  exaggeratedly 
malicious.  Anyhow,  whatever  may  be  the  truth  about  her 
earliest  years,  surrounded  by  tainted  influences,  she  seems  to 
have  entirely  redeemed  herself.  At  the  death  of  her  father, 
Acacius,  he  left  a  widow  with  three  daughters,  of  whom  Theo- 
dora was  one,  at  that  time  five  years  of  age.  The  widow,  re- 
marrying, thought  her  second  husband  should  be  appointed  to 


WORLD   INFLUENCE    OF    WOMAN'S    CHARMS.  63 

the  place  which  her  first  had  held.  The  appointment,  however, 
went  to  another  man.  In  the  hope  of  having  the  decision 
changed,  the  widow  sent  her  three  little  daughters  to  the  Amphi- 
theatre to  seek  the  support  of  "the  blue  faction.  That  faction 
received  them  with  favor,  but  their  opponents  in  politics,  "the 
green  faction,"  treated  them  with  contempt.  This  occurrence 
made  so  profound  an  impression  on  the  mind  of  Theodora,  that 
it  contributed,  in  the  course  of  time,  to  serious  consequences. 

When  old  enough,  Theodora  went  upon  the  stage,  but  as  she 
had  nothing  but  her  wonderful  beauty  and  some  comic  ability 
to  attract  in  that  sphere,  no  histrionic  talent,  and  could  neither 
dance,  sing,  nor  play  upon  the  flute,  she  made  an  impression 
confined  to  pantomimic  performance.  "Theodora,"  says  Gib- 
bon, the  historian,  "was  the  subject  of  more  flattering  praise, 
and  the  source  of  more  exquisite  delight.  Her  features  were 
delicate  and  regular;  her  complexion,  though  somewhat  pale, 
was  tinged  with  a  natural  color;  every  sensation  was  instinc- 
tively expressed  by  the  vivacity  of  her  eyes ;  her  easy  motions  dis- 
played the  graces  of  a  small  but  elegant  figure;  and  either  love 
or  adulation  might  proclaim  that  painting  and  poetry  were 
incapable  of  delineating  the  matchless  excellence  of  her  form." 

The  reader  probably  inquires,  why,  with  all  these  graces  and 
temperament,  Theodora  failed  as  an  actress.  But  it  is  a  matter 
of  history  that  she  did  so  fail,  and  it  is  that  with  which  we  must 
here  be  content.  In  a  few  years  she  abandoned  the  stage  and, 
it  is  reported,  made  her  livelihood  by  spinning;  perhaps,  as 
suspected,  with  the  intention  of  reformation  of  her  life.  She 
Seems  to  have  had  some  premonition  of  her  future  greatness,  and 
managed  in  some  way  or  other  to  attract  the  attention  of  Jus- 
tinian, the  heir-apparent  to  the  throne  of  the  Byzantine  Empire. 
Her  extreme  beauty  was  a  fact  that  no  one  could  doubt,  but, 
additionally,  she  had  ability  of  the  first  order,  and  she  completed 
the  infatuation  of  Justinian  for  her  by  her  conduct  and  under- 
standing. Her  influence  over  him  was  so  deep  and  lasting,  that 
he  resolved  to  marry  her.  Two  difficulties  presented  themselves 


64  HEALTH   AND   BEAUTY. 

to  this:  the  opposition  of  Justinian's  aunt,  Euphemia,  and  the 
law,  which  forbade  the  marriage  of  a  senator  with  one  who 
had  been  an  actress.  However,  upon  the  death  of  the  aunt,  the 
ruling  monarch,  Justin,  yielded  to  the  solicitations  of  Justinian, 
his  nephew  and  heir,  and  the  law  was  repealed,  and  Theodora, 
who  had  been  previously  elevated  to  the  patriciate,  was  married 
to  Justinian.  After  the  death  of  Justin,  Justinian  became 
Emperor  in  his  stead,  and  conferred  the  imperial  dignity  upon 
Theodora,  announcing  her  to  the  world  in  the  following  terms : 
as  "an  equal  and  independent  colleague  in  the  sovereignty  of  the 
Empire."  She  had,  among  her  high  attributes,  the  inestimable 
quality  of  courage,  as  appeared  later  on  a  signal  occasion. 

Justinian  carried  on  several  wars,  adorned  Constantinople 
and  other  principal  cities  of  the  Empire  with  many  beautiful 
buildings;  he  improved  harbors,  built  bridges,  executed  forti- 
fications, and  to  his  initiation  the  modern  world  owes  the  con- 
solidation of  Roman  law  known  as  the  Justinian  Code.  Yet, 
with  all  the  advantages  of  birth,  education,  and  personal  char- 
acter, Justinian  might  not  have  stood  so  high  in  history  as  he 
does,  but  for  his  extraordinary  wife,  Theodora.  Beginning 
almost  from  the  time  of  the  death  of  Christ,  heresy  had  been 
rife,  and  theological  controversies  carried  on  with  the  greatest 
acrimony,  and  they,  of  course,  were  complicated  with  the  poli- 
tics of  both  the  Eastern  and  Western  Empires,  into  which  the 
Roman  one  had  become  divided,  whilst  rj&ganism  had  by  no 
means  ceased  to  be  a  power.  Since  the  severance  between  the 
East  and  the  West,  barbarians  had  constantly  assailed  the  bor- 
ders of  the  two  Empires,  and  had  even  penetrated  the  interiors 
of  both.  The  ancient  martial  spirit  and  military  skill  of  Greeks 
and  Romans  seemed  to  have  almost  departed,  and  the  tottering 
Empires  depended  upon  the  most  precarious  of  supports,  on  the 
arms  of  mercenary  barbarian  soldiers.  The  leaders  of  these, 
with  their  hordes,  had  sometimes  settled  in  the  country,  and  by 
conquest  or  election  ascended  the  thrones  of  the  East  and  the 
West.  The  inhabitants  of  both  capitals  were  given  up  to  ener- 


WORLD   INFLUENCE   OF    WOMAN^S    CHARMS.  65 

vating  luxury.  Foreign  conquest  and  domestic  tyranny  were 
secondary  in  their  minds  to  ease  and  publicly  provided  amuse- 
ments. In  Constantinople,  the  center  of  popular  interest  was 
the  amphitheatre.  In  the  chariot  races  of  the  Greeks,  it  had 
become  customary  to  distinguish  competitors  by  different 
colored  ribbons,  white,  red,  blue,  and  green.  Spectators  were 
divided  into  factions  about  the  contestants.  The  strife  of  "blue" 
and  "green"  was  not  confined  to  the  arena;  it  divided  friends 
and  families,  whose  enmity  sometimes  broke  out  in  riot  and 
assassination.  This  is  the  world  into  which,  it  may  be  said, 
Theodora  was  born,  and  in  which,  at  five  years  of  age,  she  re- 
ceived her  greatest  rebuff. 

In  A.  D.  532,  about  five  years  after  her  marriage  to  Jus- 
tinian, factional  hatred  blazed  forth  in  Constantinople  in  a  terri- 
ble insurrection.  Unforgetful  of  the  contempt  with  which  she 
and  her  sisters  had  been  treated  by  the  faction  of  "the  greens," 
when  they  had  appeared  as  supplicants  in  the  amphitheatre, 
Theodora  had  always  since  favored  the  faction  of  "the  blues." 
There  was  great  destruction  in  the  city,  and  enormous  loss  of 
life.  For  a  time,  indeed,  it  seemed  as  if  the  Empire  were  to  be 
lost  to  Justinian  and  Theodora,  for  the  Emperor  and  Empress, 
the  Court  and  Belisarius,  the  greatest  general  of  the  age,  were 
hemmed  in  the  palace  by  the  mob,  and  there  was  talk  of  flight 
by  the  waters  of  the  Bosphorus.  But  the  resolute  Theodora 
said:  "If  flight  were  the  only  means  of  safety,  yet  I  should 
disdain  to  fly.  Death  is  the  condition  of  our  birth,  but  they  who 
have  reigned  should  never  survive  the  loss  of  dignity  and 
dominion.  I  implore  heaven  that  I  may  never  be  seen,  not  a  day, 
without  my  diadem  and  purple ;  that  I  may  no  longer  behold  the 
light,  when  I  cease  to  be  saluted  with  the  name  of  queen.  If 
you  resolve,  O  Caesar,  to  fly,  you  have  treasures ;  behold  the  sea, 
you  have  ships ;  but  tremble  lest  the  desire  of  life  should  expose 
you  to  wretched  exile  and  ignomonious  death.  For  my  own 
part,  I  adhere  to  the  maxin  of  antiquity,  that  the  throne  is  a 
glorious  sepulchre."  Reassured  by  the  tone  of  Theodora,  braver 


66  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

resolutions  prevailed,  means  were  taken  through  which  the  fury 
of  the  rival  factions  was  entirely  directed  against  each  other, 
Belisarius  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  some  royal  troops,  and 
surprised  the  forces  of  the  malcontents  in  the  amphitheatre,  and 
the  fires  of  the  insurrection  were  quenched. 

Theodora's  views  seemed  to  have  had  much  to  do  with 
moulding  Justinian's  policy.  There  were  times  when  dissension 
arose  between  them,  but  those  who  sought  to  part  them  did  it  at 
their  cost.  Her  health,  always  delicate,  at  last  became  critical. 
Her  medical  advisers  recommended  her  resorting  to  certain 
famous  baths.  She  set  forth,  accordingly,  with  a  splendid  reti- 
nue, upon  roads  that  had  been  specially  prepared  for  her  easy 
progress,  lavishly  distributing  gifts  on  the  way  to  churches,  mon- 
asteries, and  hospitals.  She  died  in  the  twenty-fourth  year  of 
her  marriage  and  the  twenty-second  year  of  her  reign.  Jus- 
tinian deeply  deplored  and  grieved  at  her  loss.  He  survived  her 
fourteen  years.  His  long  reign  was  brilliant,  but  added  no 
strength  to  the  Byzantine  Empire.  He  is  now  chiefly  remem- 
bered by  his  Code  of  Laws. 

Is  it  asked  why  the  present  writer  has  dwelt  so  long  upon 
the  history  of  Theodora?  The  question  is  easy  to  answer.  She 
seems  to  him,  considering  the  obscureness  of  her  birth,  her  un- 
favorable early  training,  her  intellect  and  spirit,  her  rise  to  the 
responsibilities  of  supreme  power  and  its  exercise  for  many 
years,  to  have  been  the  most  extraordinary  woman  whose  deeds 
history  records.  She  was,  whether  with  truth  or  not,  charged 
with  having  been  unscrupulous  and  even  cruel,  but  those  accu- 
sations were  made  by  Procopius,  upon  the  truthfulness  of  whose 
account  modern  historians  have  thrown  doubt.  But,  even  as- 
suming that  his  accusations  are  true,  and  not  inspired  by  malice, 
she  still  remains  a  most  extraordinary  woman  for  excellent 
traits  of  character  fitting  her  for  the  station  which  she  occupied 
in  most  troublous  times.  Cite  another,  who  may,  who  is  her 
equal. 

Of  comparatively  very  recent  years,  the  province  of  history 


WORLD   INFLUENCE    OF    WOMAN'S    CHARMS.  67 

has  been  much  extended,  through  recognition  that  the  life  of 
peoples,  more  particularly  than  that  of  rulers,  ought  to  be  its 
principal  theme.  Macaulay  states  this  modern  point  of  view 
with  great  precision  and  force.  It  is  now  perceived  that  accounts 
of  the  lives,  occupations,  aspirations,  and  literature  of  the  mass 
of  any  people  are  of  more  importance  to  their  history  than  are 
narratives  upon  which  the  name  of  history  was  formerly  exclu- 
sively bestowed.  The  life  of  a  nation  does,  in  truth,  depend  upon 
its  component  parts;  that  is,  more  particularly  upon  the  per- 
sons who  go  to  form  the  people  as  a  whole,  than  upon  their 
rulers.  The  power  and  stability  of  a  nation  depend  at  bottom 
upon  the  principles  by  which,  good,  bad,  or  indifferent,  the  mass 
of  the  people  are  actuated.  The  policies  of  all  governments  must, 
as  a  finality,  depend  upon  those  principles  which  actuate  the  will 
of  the  people. 

Accordingly,  the  physical,  mental,  and  moral  gifts  of  woman 
have  had,  among  other  things,  a  widespread  influence  upon  the 
affairs  of  the  world.  Beauty  alone,  it  will  be  observed  from  con- 
sultation of  history,  has  rarely  achieved  success  in  great  affairs. 
It  is  when  beauty  has  been  associated  with  high,  sometimes  the 
highest,  intellectual  and  moral  attributes,  that  it  has  worked 
the  wonders  of  which  history  is  full.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
admirable  of  possessions,  it  is  by  its  nature  so  captivating  that  the 
observer,  despite  experience,  is  always  inclined  at  the  first  glance 
to  associate  with  it  intelligence  and  other  worth.  But,  alas,  by 
another  law  of  our  nature,  when  it  is  found  that  other  fine  attri- 
butes are  absent,  it  not  only  palls  upon  us,  but  even  excites  in  the 
mind  most  unreasonable  contempt !  The  women,  in  a  word,  who 
have  commanded  and  command  the  admiration  of  a  society,  or 
of  the  world,  through  their  gifts  of  mind,  have  been  even  plain. 
She,  however,  who  has  been  prominent  in  mind  and  virtue,  and 
has  been,  additionally,  beautiful,  has  had  the  best  opportunity 
to  touch  the  summit  of  power,  whether  as  a  leader  of  society  or 
one  ambitious  of  a  throne. 


CHAPTER    VII. 
EXPRESSION,  SEXUAL  ATTRACTION,  WEDLOCK. 

FROM  the  time  of  Aristotle,  and  probably  long  before,  to  that 
of  Lavater,  the  great  physiognomist,  the  expression  of  the 
human  face  has  been  considered  as  significant  of  character. 
The  science  of  expression  is  not  a  spurious  one,  like  that  of  phren- 
ology, which  pretends  to  mark  off  the  skull  into  little  lots  indica- 
tive of  particular  attributes  of  the  underlying  patches  of  brain. 
It  is  based  upon  experience  of  life;  for,  although  even  a  virginal 
face  may  be  falsified  by  sensual  character,  yet,  if  its  owner  lives 
long  enough,  the  true  history  of  feeling  and  action  will  become 
indelibly  written  on  its  once  pure  lineaments.  In  vain  does  the 
professional  gambler  reach  maturity  without  his  calm,  watchful 
face,  and  quiet,  shark-like  eye  betraying  his  occupation;  in  vain 
does  the  thief  try  to  conceal  by  frank  look,  his  furtive  eye  and 
ways.  That  we  may  all  be  sometimes  mistaken  in  judgment 
from  expression  is  well  known  and  by  every  truthful  person  con- 
ceded ;  but  it  is  our  own  fault  or  misfortune  when  we  fail. 

Lavater,  who  studied  the  subject  more  intimately  than  any 
other  man  who  ever  lived,  tells  us  that  when,  on  a  certain  occa- 
sion, a  man  was  announced  to  him  whom  he  had  never  before 
seen,  the  stranger,  upon  appearing,  was  believed  by  him,  at  the 
first  glance,  to  be  a  murderer.  Censuring  himself,  however,  as 
he  says,  for  what  he  persuaded  himself  must  be  an  unjust 
thought,  he  entered  into  conversation  with  his  visitor.  The 
stranger  turned  out  to  have  been  implicated  in  the  assassination 
of  the  King  of  Sweden,  and  was  obliged  to  flee  from  Zurich. 
Lavater  gives  the  following  as  an  incident  coming  to  his  know- 
ledge. A  friend  of  Count  F's  one  day  was  about  to  go,  at  the  end 
of  a  visit  to  him,  when  the  Count  locked  the  door  to  prevent 
his  egress,  telling  him  that  he  was  meditating  a  crime.  The 

friend,  astonished  and  unnerved,  confessed  that  the  Count  had 
'68 


EXPRESSION,    SEXUAL    ATTRACTION,     WEDLOCK.  69 

guessed  right,  surrendered  his  concealed  weapon  to  him,  and 
elicited  his  pity  by  the  sad  tale  he  told  of  what  had  inspired  his 
intended  crime.  Time  was  when  physiognomical  traits  were 
resorted  to  for  divination,  but,  since  the  decline  of  superstition, 
that  practice  has  almost  fallen  out  of  memory.  It  is,  neverthe- 
less, true  that  all  men  who  have  acted  great  parts  on  the  world's 
stage  have  been  gifted  beyond  their  fellows  in  the  diyination  of 
the  character  of  their  subordinates,  through  their  capacity  of 
reading  the  significance  of  facial  traits.  The  whole  world  is 
addicted,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  to  the  same  divination, 
but  with  less  skill  in  interpretation  of  the  signs. 

Lavater  writes :  "For  the  rest,  whatever  genius  may  be,  its 
character  and  nature  will  always  be  best  revealed  by  the  eye. 
Search  for  it  in  the  look,  properly  so  called,  in  the  fire  which 
animates  it,  but  above  all,  the  drawing  of  the  upper  eyelid,  con- 
sidered in  profile.  All  other  distinctive  signs  being  absent,  I 
shall  always  hold  to  that  which  has  never  deceived  me.  I  do  not 
consider  that  I  have  looked  at  a  man  until  I  have  noted  this  con- 
tour. If  this  single  feature  is  positive  and  decisive,  all  the  rest 
matters  very  little  to  me.  If  sometimes  it  so  happens  that  I  have 
not  the  time  or  the  opportunity  to  study  a  physiognomy  well, 

I  at  least  observe  the  upper  eyelid One  word  more  on 

the  look  of  a  man  of  genius.  First,  I  shall  point  out  a  peculiarity 
which  is  neither  very  frequent  nor  very  marked,  and  which  is  the 
more  difficult  to  reproduce  in  drawing,  on  account  of  its  rarity. 
In  addition  to  those  gleams  of  fire,  those  penetrating  and  rapid 
flashes,  which  may  be  explained  in  a  certain  manner  by  the  con- 
formation of  the  eye,  that  of  the  man  of  genius  has  emanations. 

I  do  not  speak  of  substantial  emanations,  which  would 

be  an  absurdity.  I  still  less  pretend  to  determine  the  nature  of 
these  emanations;  but  I  refer  them  to  a  circumstance  of  fact 
which  has  become  proverbial,  which  is  confirmed  by  experience, 
and  which  can  only,  again,  be  called  into  doubt  if  we  admit  a 

difference  between  colors I  find,  again,  the  evidence  of 

this  look  in  the  portraits  of  Cardinal  Retz,  of  Van  Dyck,  and  of 


70  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

Raphael.  The  look  of  genius,  with  all  its  fire,  is  irresistible, 
miraculous,  divine." 

Mantegazza,  a  very  modern  Italian  writer,  when  referring 
to  this  passage  from  the  works  of  Lavater,  remarks :  "For  my 
part,  I  dare  affirm,  after  long  experience,  that  men  of  genius 
may  have  existed  as  ugly  as  ^sop,  and  beautiful  as  Raphael  or 
Goethe ;  but  all  have  had  a  fiery,  indefinable  look  which  is  never 
met  with  in  an  ordinary  man,  and  in  which  seem  to  be  concen- 
trated all  the  enthusiasms  of  life,  all  the  splendor  of  light,  all  the 
energy  of  thought  and  of  will." 

These  remarks  of  Lavater  and  Mantegazza,  on  the  subject 
of  the  expression  of  the  eyes  of  the  man  of  genius,  are  well 
confirmed  lately  by  a  particular  case  cited  by  Monsieur  Paul  Vil- 
lars,  a  French  journalist,  who  has  lived  twenty  years  in  London. 
Speaking  of  an  occasion  when  he  went  to  Scotland,  during  Mr. 
Gladstone's  Midlothian  electoral  campaign  there,  and  was  placed 
only  two  seats  away  from  him  at  luncheon,  Monsieur  Villars 
writes  in  "The  Cornhill  Magazine,"  July,  1906:  "Two  things 
especially  struck  me  in  Mr.  Gladstone:  his  voice  and,  most  par- 
ticularly, his  eyes.  In  no  one  else  have  I  ever  seen  anything  to 
compare  with  his  brilliant,  piercing,  black  eyes,  so  full  of  fire  and 
energy,  with  that  searching  look  of  his  which  seemed  to  pene- 
trate to  the  very  soul  of  the  person  he  was  addressing." 

How  evil  passions,  as  well  as  good,  write  their  history  on 
the  face,  is  well  illustrated  by  the  story  of  an  Italian  painter 
who  long  sought  a  perfect  form  from  which  he  might  paint  an 
ideal  type  of  Innocence.  He  at  last  discovered  one  in  whom  was 
found,  in  form  and  feature,  all  that  could  be  desired.  Years 
later,  wishing  to  paint,  in  turn,  the  very  opposite  type  of  human 
being,  representing  Vice,  he  discovered  his  villainous  subject  in 
the  depraved  man  who,  as  a  little  child,  had  posed  as  Innocence. 

The  effect  of  intellectual  thoughts  and  pursuits  in  ennobling 
expression  is  well  condensed  by  Shakespeare's  single  line, 
"sicklied  o'er  with  the  pale  cast  of  thought."  What  a  contrast 
is  afforded  in  Europe  between  the  faces  of  the  educated  and 


EXPRESSION,    SEXUAL    ATTRACTION,     WEDLOCK.  Jl 

those  of  peasants  and  boors!  It  is  a  transfiguration  through 
which  persons  sometimes  go  in  emerging  from  low  to  higher 
estate.  Features  may  be,  in  any  man,  structurally  the  same 
among  their  component  parts,  but  what  a  vast  difference  there 
is  between  the  expression  of  intellect  and  refinement  of  some, 
contrasted  with  the  stupidity  and  brutality  of  others,  between 
gentility  and  vulgarity,  between  nobility  and  coarseness.  And, 
when  it  comes  to  genius,  who  that  looks  dispassionately,  free 
of  the  prejudices  of  life,  upon  the  living  face  of  greatness, 
or  upon  its  counterfeit  presentment  in  portrait,  can  doubt  that  its 
possessor  holds  or  held  transcendent  superiority  to  the  mass  of 
mankind. 

It  is  told  of  Monsieur  Kubisee,  who,  passing  with  some 
friends  through  a  house,  was  so  struck  by  the  portrait  of  a  beauti- 
ful woman,  that  he  was  found  an  hour  afterwards  still  gazing 
at  it  intently.  "What  do  you  think  of  the  picture,"  said  his 
friend,  Monsieur  Langes,  who  had  returned  to  find  Monsieur 
Kubisee,  "is  it  not  that  of  a  beautiful  woman?"  "Without 
doubt,"  replied  Monsieur  Kubisee,  "but  if  it  is  like,  the  person 
that  it  represents  has  a  very  black  soul — she  must  be  a  demon." 
It  was  a  portrait  of  Madame  de  Brinvilliers,  a  woman  of  station, 
but  one  of  the  most  dreadful  criminals  who  ever  lived.  She 
had  poisoned  her  father,  brothers,  sisters,  and  others,  to  glut 
hatred  and  acquire  means  for  profligacy.  She  was  executed 
in  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV. 

Pride,  anger,  cunning,  serenity,  doubt,  anxiety,  courage, 
cowardice,  resolution,  weakness,  cheerfulness,  all  emotions  and 
passions  that  are  habitual,  gradually  set  their  seal  upon  the 
expression  of  the  human  face.  Even  modes  of  life  have 
their  influence  on  character  and  appearance.  Most  persons  recog- 
nize at  a  glance  the  expression  of  the  soldier,  the  sea-captain,  the 
common  sailor,  the  priest,  the  sister  of  some  religious  order. 
These  effects  are  produced  by  the  influence  of  diverse  habitual 
thoughts  and  impressions  upon  the  small  muscles  of  the  face. 
These,  although,  upon  certain  occasions,  controllable  by  the 


72  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

will,  are  not  generally  so  controlled.  They  are  habitually  moved 
by  the  play  of  unrestrained  emotional  habit  on  the  part  of 
the  individual.  Small  as  the  muscles  are,  compared  with  the 
muscular  masses  of  the  body,  they  are  large  enough  to  be 
separated  from  one  another  and  their  action  demonstrated  by 
the  teacher  of  anatomy.  All  muscles  contract  in  response  to 
impulses  transmitted  to  them  by  nerves,  and  nerves  receive  their 
impulse  from  the  emotions  conveyed  from  the  brain.  The  facial 
muscles  are,  of  course,  controlled  by  the  facial  nerves,  of  which 
there  is  a  main  branch  on  each  side  of  the  face.  From  these 
main  branches  numerous  smaller  ones  ramify  to  all  parts  of  the 
face.  The  nerves,  connected  directly  with  the  brain,  are  there- 
fore fitted  to  transmit  with  rapidity  the  impulses  of  the  mind 
known  as  emotions  and  passions. 

Hence  comes  the  influence  of  the  mental  condition,  or,  if 
it  be  habitual,  the  mental  state,  upon  the  countenance,  when  cer- 
tain trains  of  thought  are  either  temporarily  present,  or  else 
habitually  reign  in  the  mind.  Upon  these  nerves  are  thus  im- 
pressed habits  of  thought  transmitted  to  their  corresponding 
muscles,  which,  in  turn,  mould  the  face  to  certain  contours 
which  mankind  have  learned  to  recognize  as  wanted  affections, 
which,  summarized,  mean  character.  We  can  scarcely  ever,  in 
judging  from  a  face  as  to  character,  make  so  egregious  a  mistake 
as  not  to  discern  whether  or  not  the  person  is  kindly,  cross,  gen- 
erous, mean,  or  possesses  other  salient  traits.  In  persons  of 
pleasant  temperament,  the  expression  is  so  marked  that  even 
children  recognize  it.  The  mere  glance  of  a  well-bred  man  is 
more  effective  than  any  play  of  features  of  his  imitator.  There 
is  a  noodle  portion  of  mankind,  among  both  men  and  women, 
but  especially  among  men,  which  cultivate  the  nil  admirari  aspect 
of  inane  fixity  of  look  as  well  as  curtness  of  speech,  but,  being 
of  spurious  refinement,  it  has  no  influence  upon  the  world  save 
to  excite  its  ridicule.  The  theatre  of  its  small  existence  is 
insular,  provincial,  or  in  cliques  in  big  cities  where  the  actors 
have  no  recognition  but  their  own.  Men  and  women  may  be 


EXPRESSION,    SEXUAL    ATTRACTION,    WEDLOCK.  73 

properly  reserved  among  chance  acquaintances,  but  anything  like 
assumption  of  aloofness  is  vulgar. 

Just  as  the  artist,  whether  sculptor  or  painter,  has  the 
power,  through  nature  and  practice,  to  portray  characters 
through  form  and  color,  so  the  gifted  novelist  possesses  the  same 
kind  of  power  in  the  sphere  of  literature,  and  both  of  them  so 
far  transcend,  in  observation  and  skill  in  delineation,  the  mass  of 
mankind,  that  mankind  recognize  in  themselves  but  worshippers 
at  shrines  to  which  they  can  make  no  contributions.  The  novel- 
ist possesses  in  high  degree,  not  only  the  gift  of  expression,  but 
that  of  discernment  of  character  beyond  the  capacity  of  the  mul- 
titude. In  "Romola,"  by  George  Eliot,  the  portrait  which  Piero 
Di  Cosimo  makes  of  Tito  Melema  is  inspired  by  a  single  transient 
expression  of  Tito's  which  the  artist  has  casually  caught  on  the 
villain's  face.  This  expression  had  been  produced  by  the  un- 
expected appearance  before  him  of  one  whom  he  had  wronged 
and  had  thought  dead.  "His  face,"  said  Piero,  "will  suit  my 
traitor.  A  perfect  traitor  should  have  a  face  which  vice  can 
write  no  marks  on,  lips  that  will  lie  with  a  dimpled  smile,  eyes  of 
such  agate-like  brightness  and  depth  that  no  infamy  can  dull 
them,  cheeks  that  will  rise  from  a  murder  and  not  look  haggard. 
I  say  not  this  young  man  is  a  traitor.  I  mean  he  has  a  face 
that  would  make  him  the  more  perfect  if  he  had  the  heart  of  one." 

Tito  was  young  and  handsome.    Length  of  days  had  not 

yet  had  time  to  write  permanently  on  his  face  the  record  of  his 
villainy,  one  fleeting  glimpse  of  which  he  had  accidentally  re- 
vealed to  the  artist-eye  of  Cosimo. 

The  rapid  improvement  in  character  and  expression,  brought 
about  by  participation  in  great  events,  is  well  portrayed  by  Haw- 
throne  in  his  posthumous  unfinished  romance,  "Septimius  Fel- 
ton."  "Septimius,"  he  writes,  "  looked  at  Robert  Hagburn  in 
surprise,  so  much  was  he  altered  and  improved  by  this  brief  ex- 
perience of  war,  adventure,  and  responsibility  which  he  had 
passed  through.  Not  less  than  the  effect  produced  in  his  loutish, 
rustic  air  and  deportment,  developing  his  figure,  seeming  to 


74  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

make  him  taller,  setting  free  the  manly  graces  that  had  lurked 
within  his  awakened  frame,  not  less  was  the  effect  on  his  mind, 
giving  freedom  of  ideas,  simple  perception  of  great  thought,  a 
free  and  natural  chivalry,  so  that  the  knight,  the  Homeric  war- 
rior, the  hero,  seemed  to  be  here  in  the  young  New  England 
rustic,  and  all  that  history  and  fiction  have  given  and  hearts 
throbbed  and  sighed  and  gloried  over,  of  patriotism  and  heroic 
feeling  and  action,  might  be  repeated,  perhaps,  in  the  life  and 
death  of  this  familiar  friend  and  playmate  of  his,  whom  he  had 
valued  not  over-highly — Robert  Hagburn."  These  transforma- 
tions, or  rather  developments  of  character,  of  expression  and  of 
hearing,  were  abundantly  exemplified  during  our  Civil  War. 
Bumpkins  who  went  to  the  front  often  reappeared  after  drill, 
discipline,  and  the  fiery  ordeal  of  battle,  with  well-set  figures, 
confident  looks,  resolute  eyes,  and  modest  but  martial  bearing. 
Under  the  stress  described,  the  whole  mental  and  bodily  organ- 
ism is  stimulated  to  development.  It  searches  out  and  protects 
manly  traits,  and  weeds  out  the  ignoble  from  fellowmen.  The 
fact  is  one  of  the  chief  compensations  for  the  many  horrible 
realities  of  war,  for  long  peace  has  its  victims  of  the  sordid  kind, 
in  greed  of  money  and  all  that  that  entails. 

Refinement  and  kindliness  indisputably  create  an  attrac- 
tive expression  of  countenance.  The  complexion,  as  has  here 
previously  been  said,  depends  upon  a  fine  skin,  good  health,  and 
cleanliness.  Therefore,  as  was  also  said  at  the  beginning,  good 
looks  depend,  to  a  considerable  extent  upon  our  own  wills.  In  per- 
sons of  highly  nervous  organization,  the  lines  of  the  face  are  con- 
stantly changing  in  response  to  thought  and  emotions.  If,  upon 
the  basis  of  natural  faculties,  these  be  directed  in  wider  channels 
than  those  which  minister  to  vanity  and  undue  pursuit  of  amuse- 
ment, which  does  not  always  prove  to  be  pleasure,  an  air  of  dis- 
tinction becomes  inevitably  stamped  upon  the  features.  Mobile 
features  then  possess  a  charm  largely  independent  of  mere  sym- 
metry. So  endowed,  both  men  and  women  are  handsomer  in 
mature  years  than  they  ever  were  in  extreme  youth.  Many 


EXPRESSION,,    SEXUAL    ATTRACTION,    WEDLOCK.  75 

pretty,  frivolous  girls,  who  spend  most  of  their  thought  and  time 
in  gaities,  and  sacrifice  rest  to  excitement,  disappoint  in  looks 
the  promise  of  their  early  years.  They  may  have  had,  at  the 
beginning  of  life,  what  is  called  "la  beaute  du  diable,"  the  devil's 
beauty,  only  the  beauty  of  youth.  They  fade  rapidly,  and  reveal 
at  twenty-eight  years  of  age  the  vapidity  of  expression  that  had 
been  masked  in  them  at  eighteen  by  youth.  On  the  other  hand, 
dispositions  that  lead,  unchecked,  to  the  perfection  of  indifference 
in  pose  of  features,  do  not  invite  admiration  or  love  for  the 
underlying  character  of  the  possessor.  Tennyson  writes : — 

"But  a  cold  and  clear-cut  face,  as  I  found  when  her  carriage 

past, 

Perfectly  beautiful :    let  it  be  granted  her :    where  is  the  fault  ? 
All  that  I  saw  (for  her  eyes  were  downcast,  not  to  be  seen), 
Faultily  faultless,  icily  regular,  splendidly  null, 

Dead  perfection,  no  more." 

Madame  de  Sevigne,  one  of  the  handsomest  women  of  her 
time,  the  time  of  Louis  XIV,  would  not  have  had  the  remark- 
able social  and  political  influence  which  she  exercised,  but  for 
her  charms  of  mind,  heart,  and  manners.  Her  daughter, 
Madame  de  Grignan,  although  considered  beautiful,  had  but 
indifferent  success  at  Court  and  elsewhere,  and  long  before  she 
died,  was  well  known  for  her  cold,  thoroughly  selfish  nature. 
Of  Madame  de  Sevigne,  her  intimate  friend,  Madame  de  Lafay- 
ette wrote  to  Madame  de  Sevigne  herself:  "Your  varying  ex- 
pression so  heightens  and  adorns  your  beauty,  that  there  is  nothing 
so  brilliant  as  yourself ;  every  word  you  utter  adds  to  the  bright- 
ness of  your  eyes,  and  while  it  is  said  that  language  improves 
only  the  ear,  it  is  quite  certain  that  yours  enchants  the  vision." 
It  was  said  of  Madame  de  Stael,  of  the  time  of  the  first  French 
Empire,  a  brilliant  woman,  but  no  beauty,  that  her  knowledge, 
wit,  and  vivacity  so  shone  in  her  face  as  to  excite  admiration. 
Sismondi  wrote  of  her :  "To  hear  her  one  would  have  said  that 
she  was  the  experience  of  many  souls  mingled  in  one.  I  looked 


76  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

and  listened  with  transport.  I  discovered  in  her  features  a  charm 
superior  to  beauty,  and  if  I  do  not  hear  her  words,  yet  her  tones, 
her  gestures,  and  her  looks  convey  to  me  her  meaning."  Yet 
Madame  de  Sevigne  was  not  perfectly  beautiful,  she  had  a  rather 
blunt  nose,  and  Madame  de  Stae'l  was  decidedly  plain  from  the 
point  of  view  of  pleasant  symmetry  of  features. 

We  insensibly  classify  faces  as  tender,  merry,  arch,  thought- 
ful, amiable,  and  in  many  other  ways,  with  reference  to  the  gen- 
eral impression  that  they  make  upon  us.  In  the  presence  of  de- 
cided beauty  we  do  not  analyze  its  charm.  We  judge  of  its 
attributes  collectively.  Later,  we  may  become  aware  of  some- 
thing in  it  faulty  in  form  or  color.  Indeed,  it  sometimes  hap- 
pens that  a  defect,  such  as  a  slight  cast  in  one  eye,  presents  itself 
as  an  attractive  expression.  As  for  the  simultaneous  and  instan- 
taneous attempt  at  insight  into  character,  we  must  be  aware  that, 
from  time  immemorial,  men,  women,  and  children  must  instinc- 
tively have  sought  knowledge  of  character  from  the  expression 
of  the  face.  Faulty  as  the  judgment  often  is,  yet  even  very  little 
children  often  guess  aright  from  the  signs  who  are  the  friends 
of  childhood.  Even  the  dog  seems  to  divine  who  is  a  lover  of  his 
kind.  That  is  the  general  truth,  notwithstanding  that  all,  at 
times,  make  mistakes,  that  one  may  justly  come  to  like  another 
who  was  at  first  repugnant,  and  as  justly  come  to  dislike  another 
for  whom  at  first  was  felt  great  attraction.  The  true  signs  are 
always  present,  but  he  who  runs  does  not  always  read  aright. 

Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  "Peveril  of  the  Peak,"  speaks  of  a 
"feeling  in  the  human  mind,  allied,  perhaps,  to  that  sense  of 
danger  which  animals  exhibit  when  placed  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
natural  enemies  of  their  race,  and  which  makes  birds  cower  when 
the  hawk  is  in  the  air,  and  tremble  when  the  tiger  is  abroad  in 
the  desert."  Goethe  makes  Margaret  have  an  intuitive  appre- 
hension of  Mephistopheles.  In  one  of  his  poems,  Coleridge 
writes : — 


EXPRESSION,    SEXUAL    ATTRACTION,     WEDLOCK.  77 

"And  yet  Sarolta,  simple,  inexperienced, 
Could  see  him  as  he  was,  and  often  warned  me! 
Whence  learned  she  this  ?    Oh,  she  was  innocent ! 
And  to  be  innocent  is  Nature's  wisdom. 
The  hedge-dove  knows  the  prowlers  of  the  air, 
Feared  soon  as  seen,  and  flutter  back  to  shelter. 
And  the  young  steed  recoils  upon  its  haunches, 
The  never-yet-seen  adder's  hiss  first  heard. 
Oh,  surer  than  suspicion's  hundred  eyes, 
Is  that  fine  sense,  which,  to  the  pure  in  heart, 
By  mere  oppugnancy  of  their  own  goodness 
Reveals  th'  approach  of  evil." 

Beauty  is  an  attribute  which  we  mentally  refer  more  to  the 
female  than  to  the  male  sex.  Man,  no  less  than  woman,  how- 
ever, may  possess  beauty;  but  whether  devoted  to  active  or  to 
sedentary  mode  of  life,  what  is  chiefly  valued  in  men  by  the 
whole  world  is  not  beauty  of  features,  but  strength  of  body  and 
mind  coupled  with  corresponding  looks.  Mere  symmetry  of 
features  in  man,  without  expression  of  energy  in  face,  is  a 
reproach  to  manhood.  The  curled  and  perfumed  barber's  block 
and  darling  of  the  vulgar  girl,  excites  the  contempt  of  all  manly 
men  and  refined  women.  What  is,  in  a  man,  known  as  effemin- 
acy is  an  attribute  out  of  place  in  man,  and  makes  of  a  man 
as  much  a  monster,  as  manly  traits  in  a  woman  make  her  among 
the  most  forbidding  of  her  sex.  Character,  strength  of  body, 
are  what,  rightly  constituted,  women  most  admire  in  men;  ten- 
derness, beauty,  grace,  sprightliness,  what  men  most  admire 
in  women.  The  noblest  artists  whom  the  world  has  seen  knew 
how  to  represent  manhood,  with  its  beauty  of  form  and  expres- 
sion of  energy.  The  impress  of  thought  upon  the  male  counte- 
nance is  recognized  as  more  than  mere  animal  beauty  appropriate 
to  man.  The  facial  muscles  surround  the  eyelids  and  the  mouth, 
are  attached  to  the  corners  of  the  nose  and  lips,  to  the  forehead, 
cheeks,  and  skin.  According  to  their  action,  they  raise  the  skin 
of  the  upper  forehead  and  of  the  upper  eyelid  to  an  expression  of 
expectancy  or  surprise,  contract  the  brows  into  a  frown,  draw 


78  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

up  the  lip  in  a  smile  of  pleasure,  or  contempt  or  sneer,  pull 
down  the  corners  of  the  mouth,  giving  an  air  of  dejection  or  of 
melancholy  to  the  face.  It  ought  to  be  readily  seen  why,  if  cer- 
tain movements  become  habitual  to  the  exclusion  of  others,  the 
face  eventually  acquires  an  expression  that  is  indelible. 

It  is  care  and  worry  or  disease  and  vice  that  make  the 
greatest  ravages  in  the  human  face.  No  one  can  pass  through 
life  without  his  or  her  nervous  system  being  heavily  burdened 
by  unavoidable  afflictions.  But,  besides  legitimate  care,  which 
none  but  those  without  conscience  can  escape,  there  is  spurious 
care,  the  outward  sign  of  which  is  known  as  worrying,  which, 
however  illegitimate  from  the  highest  point  of  conception  of 
duty,  leaves  its  traces  in  a  discontented  countenance.  As  for  the 
brand  of  vice,  it  sears  slowly  but  deeply  the  human  face,  until  its 
victim,  whether  man  or  woman,  stands  revealed  to  the  humblest 
observer,  not  only  as  to  the  fact,  but  as  to  the  very  kind  of  moral 
deformity  present. 

Human  expression  of  face  is  moulded  to  a  certain  extent 
by  the  influence  of  surrounding  expression.  The  writer  once 
saw  a  boy,  the  son  of  American  parents,  who  had  been  born 
and  lived  in  China,  and  who,  when  he  arrived  in  this  country, 
had  a  Chinese  expression  of  face  that  did  not  leave  him  for 
several  months.  Habits  of  life,  diet,  pursuits,  beget  similarity 
of  expression  and  manner.  We  are  seldom  at  a  loss  to  identify 
an  Englishman,  Frenchman,  German,  Italian.  Individual 
features  may  vary  among  these  and  among  those  of  other  nation- 
alities, but  we  settle  the  nationality  of  the  persons  with  the 
utmost  confidence  before  we  hear  their  speech.  Among  happily 
married  persons,  the  resemblance  between  husband  and  wife 
often  becomes  so  marked  that  they  are  taken  for  brother  and  sister. 
This  influence  of  human  expression  was  noticed  by  Lavater.  He 
says :  "It  happens  to  all  to  acquire  the  habits,  the  gestures,  the 
face  of  those  that  they  see  familiarly.  We  assimilate  ourselves 
in  some  degree  to  all  that  we  love;  and  of  two  things,  one; 


EXPRESSION,    SEXUAL    ATTRACTION,     WEDLOCK.  79 

either  it  is  the  loved  object  which  moulds  us  to  himself,  or  it 
is  we  who  seek  to  mould  him  to  us.  All  that  is  without  acts 
upon  us  and  suffers  some  reciprocal  action  from  our  side;  but 
nothing  reacts  upon  our  individuality  so  efficaciously  as  that 
which  pleases,  and  nothing,  indubitably,  is  more  lovable  or 
more  fitted  to  move  us,  than  the  face  of  man.  That  which  makes 
it  lovable  to  us  is  precisely  its  harmony  with  our  own.  Would 
it  be  able  to  influence  and  attract  us  if  points  of  attraction  did 
not  exist  which  determine  the  conformity,  or  at  least  the 
homogeneity,  of  its  forms  or  its  features  with  our  own  ?  I  shall 
not  essay  to  penetrate  the  profoundness  of  this  incomprehen- 
sible mystery.  I  do  not  pretend  to  resolve  the  difficulty  of  the 
how;  but  the  fact  is  certain,  there  are  faces  which  attract,  as 
there  are  others  which  repel;  the  conformity  of  features  be- 
tween two  individuals  who  sympathize  together,  who  are  often 
together,  corresponds  with  the  development  of  their  particular 
sensations.  Our  visage  keeps,  if  we  may  thus  express  it,  the 
reflection  of  the  loved  object." 

The  only  qualification  necessary  to  make  to  these  views  of 
Lavater's  is  that  the  assimilation  of  which  he  speaks  is  rarely, 
instead  of  commonly,  as  he  seems  to  think,  a  conscious  one. 
Affection  or  admiration,  as  the  case  may  be,  are  almost  univer- 
sally the  unconscious  agencies  which  bring  about  likeness.  The 
action,  moreover,  cannot  be  called  reciprocal ;  it  comes  from  one 
side  stronger  than  from  the  other,  so  efficiently  to  the  exclusion 
of  effect  from  the  other,  that  we  may  justly  consider  one  side 
as  relatively  the  one  loved  or  admired,  so  much  does  it  pre- 
dominate in  efficiency.  Il-y-a  tonjours  im  qui  baise,  et  I'autre  qui 
tonrne  la  joue,  says  the  French  proverb.  There  is  always  one 
who  does  the  kissing  and  the  other  who  permits  it.  There  is  no 
such  thing  as  perfect  equality  in  the  universe.  A  wife  has  been 
known  to  acquire  penmanship  so  much  like  her  husband's  that 
it  was  almost  impossible  to  tell  their  writing  apart.  It  is  the 
dominant  being  in  any  association  among  mankind,  regardless 
of  sex,  who  is  unconsciously  imitated,  from  either  love  or  ad- 


80  HEALTH   AND   BEAUTY. 

miration.  Intentional  imitation  is  comparatively  rare.  That  it 
occasionally  takes  place,  is  all  that  can  be  truly  said.  The  law 
that  we  have  been  discussing  goes  much  deeper  than  that  con- 
sideration. A  case  of  unconscious  imitation  which  ought  to  be 
recognized,  so  plain  it  is,  by  even  the  least  observant,  is  that  of 
manners.  Manners,  not  manner  (for  that  belongs  to  tempera- 
ment), are  chiefly,  almost  wholly,  derived  from  unconscious  imi- 
tation. We  find,  throughout'  all  social  spheres,  different  expres- 
sions of  the  face,  different  forms  of  speech,  different  tones  of 
voice,  different  subjects  of  interest  and  conversation.  The  ex- 
tremes of  society  do  not  readily  understand  each  other's  moods 
at  all,  unless  the  highest  happens  on  occasion  to  hold  philoso- 
phers; the  lowest  never  does  hold  philosophers,  and  understand, 
except  in  the  vaguest  way,  the  others. 

The  human  face  indicates  at  maturity,  not  only  the  char- 
acter, but  the  degree  of  culture  of  an  individual.  The  blended 
effects  of  intellectuality  and  morality  in  the  individual  form  the 
highest  attribute  to  which  the  human  face  can  attain.  Yet, 
blended  as  they  may  be,  and  often  are,  they  are  inseparable  to  ob- 
servation. The  most  unlettered,  ignorant  person  may  give  evi- 
dence in  looks  of  high  morality  in  character.  Some  persons  are 
by  nature  more  strongly  drawn  to  contemplation  of  morality,  and 
others  by  the  same  initial  impulse  to  intellectual  exercise.  The 
constant  contemplation  of  duty,  the  exercise  of  beneficence,  give 
an  air  of  serenity  to  the  countenance,  while  exercise  of  thought 
on  the  various  problems  of  life  gives  a  loftiness  of  expression 
not  otherwise  attainable.  The  celebrated  French  author, 
Diderot,  remarks  that  there  is  scarcely  a  moral  maxim  which 
may  not  also  serve  as  a  medical  aphorism,  and  that  there  are 
very  few  medical  aphorisms  which  cannot  readily  be  converted 
into  moral  maxims.  This  dictum  of  his  merely  means,  in  effect, 
that  the  law  of  life  for  the  well-being  of  humanity  pervades  both 
the  bodily  and  moral  elements  of  mankind,  that  one  cannot  be 
injured  but  at  the  expense  of  the  other.  The  complexity  of 
human  life  involves  intellectual,  moral,  and  bodily  being,  acted 


EXPRESSION,    SEXUAL    ATTRACTION,    WEDLOCK.  8 1 

upon  and  being  reacted  upon  by  the  individual's  surroundings 
in  life. 

Moderation,  temperance  in  the  use  of  all  things,  is  one  of 
the  highest  laws  of  life.  When  not  by  nature  endowed  with 
tendency  to  practice  it,  one  should  sedulously  school  himself  to 
follow  it  as  the  only  safe  guide  for  mental,  moral,  and  bodily 
welfare.  We  should  study  ourselves,  morally,  intellectually,  and 
physically.  We  differ  in  evil  propensities,  and  differ  in  strength 
of  mind  to  control  them.  Some  persons  are  so  happily  consti- 
tuted by  nature  that  they  scarcely  realize,  as  compared  with 
others,  the  meaning  of  temptation.  Such  pure  beings,  when  they 
happen  to  realize  it,  shudder  at  the  thought  of  doing  wrong, 
and  have  a  horror  of  committing  positive  sin.  They  have  no 
ill-regulated  desires  through  which  temptation  may  assail  them. 
From  the  face  of  a  thoroughly  good  man  or  woman  seems  to 
beam  an  expression  recognizable  by  the  most  corrupt,  who,  like 
the  fallen  angels,  "believe  and  tremble."  Spenser  has,  in  his 
"Faerie  Queene"  typified,  in  Una  and  the  Lion,  the  influence  of 
simple  goodness  and  innocence  over  passion. 

A  fatal  blindness  to  physiognomical  signs  may  grow  out 
of  sexual  attraction.  Anyone  who  has  lived  to  even  very  mod- 
erate length  of  life  cannot  but  have  observed  that  love  at  first 
sight  is  a  very  uncertain  guarantee  of  permanent  passion  for  the 
objects  of  affection.  The  whole  being,  taken  off  its  guard,  as  it 
were,  finds  perfection,  although  perfection  is  nowhere  visible 
on  earth.  Such  an  emotional  attitude  of  mind  cannot  last  in  the 
same  degree  of  intensity.  It  may,  in  truth,  sober  down  to  a 
condition  of  real  insight,  with  appreciation  and  lifelong  affection, 
but  that  is  an  accident  most  fortunate  for  those  involved.  The 
emotion^  itself  is  blindness,  and  fortunate  is  he  or  she  who,  hav- 
ing experienced  it,  awakes  to  find  that  a  prize  has  nevertheless 
been  drawn  in  the  lottery  of  life. 

Putting  this  blindness  or  temporary  madness  out  of  ques- 
tion, different  circumstances  of  birth  and  training,  differences  of 
disposition,  different  habits  of  thought,  and  many  other  things 

6 


82  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

relating  to  life,  in  themselves  perfectly  blameless,  will  often  pre- 
vent the  realization  of  extravagant  hopes  in  marriage.  Love 
may  be  at  bottom  true,  but  it  cannot  fail  sometimes  to  be  put 
to  a  severe,  and  sometimes  intolerable  test,  by  constant  jars 
about  trifles.  These  little  things  are,  in  fact,  those  which  make 
life  miserable.  In  the  presence  of  great  grief  or  calamity,  the 
mind  springs  vigorously  to  meet  the  emergency.  Even  in  pros- 
perity, both  men  and  women  need  all  exercise  of  patience  and 
forbearance  to  meet  jointly,  in  complete  unison,  the  petty  annoy- 
ances of  life.  Unthrifty  housekeeping,  bad  cooking,  irregular 
meals,  extravagance,  will  ruin  the  comfort  and  happiness  of  any 
household.  Love  may,  indeed,  survive  diminished,  but  ever 
growing  less  and  less  amid  the  daily  grind  of  petty  cares,  but  at 
least  sweet  tranquility  of  domestic  life  has  no  part  in  such  a 
household  to  soothe  existence.  It  sometimes  happens  that  there 
has  been,  through  conventionality,  but  slight  intimate  acquaint- 
ance between  the  parties  to  marriage.  If  true  love,  however, 
really  inspires  each  party  to  it,  they  become  in  time  assimilated 
from  due  regard  for  one  another's  character. 
Coleridge  says : — 

"All  thoughts,  all  passions,  all  delights, 
Whatever  stirs  this  mortal  frame, 
All  are  but  ministers  of  Love, 
And  feed  his  sacred  flame." 

If  this  be  not  so,  however,  in  any  particular  case,  the  enter- 
ing wedge  exists  which  may  shatter  all  domestic  happiness. 
Who  can  separate  selfishness  and  unselfishness,  to  make  them 
stand  apart  with  well-defined  boundaries?  Everything  outside 
of  ourselves  must  appeal  to  our  perception  in  one  way  or  in 
another,  as  a  certain  thing  or  its  opposite.  Whatever  does  not 
appeal  to  us  as  right,  is  practically  non-existent  so  far  as  we 
are  personally  concerned.  In  giving  himself  into  the  keeping  of 
a  wife,  does  not  a  man  purpose  the  purest  satisfaction  for  himself 
of  which  he  is  capable?  Do  not  good  women  love  self-sacrifice 
for  their  husband's  sake  ?  The  sentiment  of  love,  as  now  known 


EXPRESSION,    SEXUAL    ATTRACTION,    WEDLOCK.  83 

among  civilized  peoples,  is  a  highly  refined  conception  compared 
with  that  simpler,  ruder  one  among  savages,  from  which  it  has 
been,  in  the  course  of  time,  gradually  evolved.  Even  among  the 
most  advanced  nations  of  antiquity,  woman  occupied  a  very 
low  plane  compared  with  that  upon  which  she  now  stands 
through  the  influence  of  Christianity.  Woman,  through  its  in- 
fluence, came  to  be  regarded,  not  as  the  mere  plaything,  but  as 
the  serious  life-partner  of  man,  the  blessed  spirit  of  home  life. 
It  is  from  the  mass  of  the  people  that  generally  spring  those 
who  either  inaugurate  or  else  lead  great  movements  for  the 
betterment  of  mankind.  It  is  generally  from  the  so-called  ranks, 
that  those  rise  who  elevate  the  thoughts  of  their  fellows  and 
widen  the  boundaries  of  human  knowledge.  In  this  country, 
where  no  artificial  distinction  of  rank  is  known,  and  where  every 
one  is  more  untrammeled  than  elsewhere,  the  artificer  of  his  or 
her  fortunes,  every  generation  has  produced  fine  men  and  good 
and  beautiful  women.  Every  separate,  smaller  community  con- 
tains its  thousands  of  simple,  virtuous,  and  happy  households. 
Do  not  be  misled  into  thinking  that  the  Smart  Set  represents, 
amidst  the  sterling  worth  of  the  country,  more  than  the  froth 
of  wealth,  idleness,  and  vanity  of  mind.  Aristocracy,  aped  in 
their  hands,  would  sometimes  be  known  as  slum-born,  if  it  were 
poor.  Yet  a  female  writer  has  lately  had  the  folly  to  repre- 
sent it  as  leading  the  social  van  in  America,  when,  in  fact,  it 
trails  behind  in  most  disreputable  guise  of  vulgarest  pretence. 

"A  simple  maiden  in  her  flower 
Is  worth  a  hundred  coats-of-arms. 


Trust  me,  Clara  Vere  de  Vere, 
From  yon  blue  heavens  above  us  bent 
The  gardener  Adam  and  his  wife 
Smile  at  the  claims  of  long  descent, 
Howe'er  it  be,  it  seems  to  me, 
'Tis  only  noble  to  be  good. 
Kind  hearts  are  more  than  coronets, 
And  simple  faith  than  Norman  blood." 


84  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

The  admiration  which  the  opposite  sexes  intuitively  feel  for 
each  other  is  of  a  distinct  kind.  It  is  entirely  different  from  that 
which  men  feel  for  men  and  women  for  women.  Men  esteem 
and  honor,  and  like,  but  rarely  love  their  fellows,  unless  rela- 
tions. Women  view  each  other  with  more  critical  eyes  than 
those  with  which  men  regard  each  other.  Women  have  more 
rivalry  among  themselves  regarding  men,  than  men  have  among 
themselves  regarding  women.  Anyone  who  has  ever  been^  at  a 
watering-place  where  women  are  expecting  the  advent  of  men  in 
numbers  with  the  season,  men  perfectly  unknown  to  them,  has 
seen  their  previous  carelessness  of  attire  and  ways,  and  the  sud- 
den revolution  that  takes  place  in  their  appearance  and  manners, 
when  the  men  appear,  can  testify  to  the  fact  which  indicates  a 
species  of  rivalry  wholly  unknown  among  men. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  instances  of  the  power  which 
a  lover's  fancy  has  of  imparting  charms  to  homeliness  is  found 
in  Dr.  Johnson's  relations  to  his  wife.  Of  them  Macaulay  says 
that:  "While  leading  this  vagrant  and  miserable  life,  Johnson 
fell  in  love.  The  object  of  his  passion  was  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Por- 
ter, a  widow  who  had  children  as  old  as  himself.  To  ordinary 
spectators,  the  lady  appeared  to  be  a  short,  fat,  coarse  woman, 
painted  half  an  inch  thick,  dressed  in  gaudy  colors,  and  fond 
of  exhibiting  provincial  airs  and  graces  which  were  not  exactly 
those  of  the  Queensberrys  and  Lepels.  To  Johnson,  however, 
whose  passions  were  strong,  whose  eyesight  was  too  weak  to  dis- 
tinguish cerise  from  natural  bloom,  and  who  had  seldom  or 
never  been  in  the  room  with  a  woman  of  real  fashion,  his  Titty, 
as  he  called  her,  was  the  most  beautiful,  graceful,  and  accom- 
plished of  her  sex.  That  his  admiration  was  unfeigned  cannot 
be  doubted,  for  she  was  as  poor  as  himself.  She  accepted,  with 
a  readiness  which  did  her  little  honor,  the  addresses  of  a  suitor 
who  might  have  been  her  son.  The  marriage,  however,  in 
spite  of  occasional  wranglings,  proved  happier  than  might  have 
been  expected.  The  lover  continued  to  be  under  the  illusions  of 
the  wedding-day  until  the  lady  died  in  her  sixty-fourth  year. 


EXPRESSION,    SEXUAL    ATTRACTION,    WEDLOCK.  85 

On  her  monument  he  placed  an  inscription  extolling  the  charms 
of  her  person  and  of  her  manners;  and  when,  long  after  her 
decease,  he  had  occasion  to  mention  her,  he  exclaimed  with  a  ten- 
derness half  ludicrous,  half  pathetic,  'Pretty  creature !' ' 

Of  the  poet  Burns  it  was  once  written :  "When  he  selected 
anyone,  out  of  the  sovereignty  of  his  good  pleasure,  to  whom 
he  should  pay  his  particular  attention,  she  was  instantly  invested 
with  a  sufficient  stock  of  charms  out  of  the  plentiful  stores  of  his 
own  imagination ;  and  there  was  often  a  great  disparity  between 
his  fair  captivator  and  her  attributes." 

Dante  thus  describes  his  first  sight  of  Beatrice,  who  was 
to  be  so  intimately  associated  with  his  own  intellectual  and  emo- 
tional elements  of  being: — 

"Already,  nine  times  after  my  birth,  the  heaven  of  light 
had  returned,  as  it  were,  to  the  same  point,  when  there  appeared 
to  my  eyes  the  glorious  lady  of  my  mind,  who  was  by  many 
called  Beatrice,  who  knew  not  what  to  call  her.  She  had  already 
been  so  long  in  this  life,  that  in  its  time  the  starry  heaven  had 
moved  towards  the  east  the  twelfth  part  of  a  degree,  so  that  she 
appeared  to  me  about  the  beginning  of  her  ninth  year,  and  I  saw 
her  about  the  end  of  my  ninth  year.  Her  dress  on  that  day  was 
of  a  most  noble  color,  a  subdued  and  goodly  crimson,  girdled 
and  adorned  in  such  sort  as  best  suited  with  her  tender  age. 
At  that  moment  I  saw  most  truly  that  the  spirit  of  life  which 
hath  its  dwelling  in  the  secretest  chamber  of  the  heart  began  to 
tremble  so  violently  that  the  least  pulses  of  my  body  shook  there- 
with; and,  in  trembling,  it  said  these  words,  ecce  deus  fortior 
me,  qui  veniens,  dominabitur  mihi"  (behold  a  god,  stronger 
than  I,  who  will  rule  me). 

Petrarch  enriched  literature  by  his  sonnets  to  an  idealized 
woman,  Laura.  Referring  to  those  effusions,  Mr.  J.  Addinglon 
Symonds  remarks,  that  Laura  "was  not  so  much  a  woman  as 
woman  in  the  abstract;  and,  perhaps,  on  this  very  account,  the 
poems  written  for  her  by  her  lover  have  never  been  taken  to  the 
heart  by  countless  lovers  who  came  after  him  (Petrarch).  The 


86  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

method  of  his  art  is  so  generalizing,  while  his  feeling  is  so 
natural,  that  every  man  can  see  himself  reflected  in  the  singer, 
and  his  mistress  shadowed  forth  in  Laura."  What  noble  loves 
are  these  idealized  ones  of  Dante  and  Petrarch,  compared  with 
those  of  sensual  men  who  would  despoil  woman  of  her  greatest 
worth  and  grace  in  purity,  without  which  the  rest  is  dross. 

Having  now  touched  at  sufficient  length  upon  Expression 
and  all  that  is  mentally  and  morally  connected  with  it,  it  behooves 
us  to  enter  upon  some  considerations  concerning  the  union  of 
the  opposite  sexes  from  an  entirely  medical  point  of  view,  as 
intimately  connected  with  health  and  general  well-being. 

There  are  certain  prevalent  diseases,  often  destructive  of 
mind  as  well  as  of  body,  which  are  markedly  hereditary  in  char- 
acter; and  which  it  is  extremely  unfortunate  should  be  perpetu- 
ated in  offspring.  These  are  syphilis,  scrofula,  consumption, 
epilepsy,  and  insanity.  Although  consumption  is  not  hereditable 
directly,  that  is,  hereditable  as  a  disease,  it  is  hereditable  indi- 
rectly, through  the  fact  that  its  physical  concomitants  of  weak 
chest,  narrow  shoulders,  low  vitality,  and  other  conditions,  sig- 
nify that  their  possessors  become  an  easier  prey  than  other  per- 
sons to  the  disease.  A  person  may,  in  a  word,  not  have  the  dis- 
ease in  even  an  incipient  form,  but  may  have  what  physicians 
call  a  consumptive  diathesis  or  predisposition  from  nature  to 
acquire  it. 

It  is  hardly  to  be  expected  that  the  ardor  of  youth  contem- 
plating marriage  will  study  the  medical  history  of  the  families 
represented  by  the  scions  who  desire  to  join  their  fortunes  in  life. 
At  the  same  time  it  is  not  too  much  to  expect  that  they  would 
take  at  least  a  cursory  view  of  the  situation  before  leaping  into 
the  dark.  Not  their  progeny  alone  is  sometimes  involved  in  the 
situation.  It  has  happened  that  they  themselves  have  been  parted 
soon  after  marriage  by  the  disease,  insanity,  which  they  would 
have  had  every  reason  to  believe,  upon  investigation,  should  and 
would  have  forbidden  the  banns. 

There  is  warrant  for  calling  the  attention  of  parents  and 


EXPRESSION,     SEXUAL    ATTRACTION,     WEDLOCK.  8/ 

young  people  to  this  important  subject.  Those  of  inferior 
physique,  in  whose  families  consumption  has  been  rife,  should 
beware  of  marriage.  Most  children  who  inherit  a  tendency  to 
consumption  and  scrofula  are  doomed  to  physical  and  mental 
suffering.  They  may  be  able  to  do  little  or  nothing  for  their  own 
support,  the  victims  of  spinal  disease,  lameness,  glandular  affec- 
tion, unsightly  scars.  The  fate  of  such  children  is  sad,  even  if 
their  parents  are  in  easy  circumstances  and  able  to  afford  them 
every  alleviation.  As,  however,  it  is  among  the  poorer  classes 
that  these  diseases  are  most  common,  the  condition  of  those 
among  whom  they  occur  is  most  pitiable. 

It  would  be  best  for  the  health  and  vigor  of  any  race  or 
nation  if  self-denial  in  marriage  were  to  be  practiced  by  members 
of  families  in  which  serious  nervous  disorders,  epilepsy,  insanity, 
or  idiocy  have  occurred.  These  diseases  are  strongly  hereditary, 
appearing  and  disappearing  in  successive  generations.  The  radical 
imperfection  of  nervous  organizations,  which  is  the  cause  of 
these  serious  disorders,  may  manifest  itself  in  different  forms 
in  successive  generations.  Among  the  poorer  and  uneducated 
classes  this  radical  imperfection  is  often  associated  with  mor- 
bid impulses  to  drunkenness  and  crime.  Melancholy  it  is  to 
every  close  observer  among  medical  men,  to  witness  the  transmis- 
sion of  evil  traits  of  mind  and  body  to  progeny.  The  abuse  of 
alcohol  is  frequent  in  families  that  have  an  hereditary  taint  in 
the  direction  of  stimulation  of  the  nervous  system.  St.  Vitus's 
dance,  hysteria,  paralysis,  imbecility,  are  found  in  the  same  class 
of  subjects.  Intemperance  is,  in  many  cases,  owing  to  the  in- 
stability of  the  nervous  tissue  of  the  body.  Weak  will-power 
is  characteristic  of  weak  people,  and  naturally,  anything  can 
become  of  one  of  these  who  has  the  predisposition  to  indulgence 
through  promptings  of  the  mind,  and  little  or  no  power  to  resist 
them.  Between,  on  the  one  hand,  a  faulty  nervous  system,  in- 
herited tendency  to  drink,  and  deficiency  of  will  power,  and  on 
the  other,  the  obligations  of  the  duty  of  life,  a  person  is  really 
between  the  devil  and  the  deep  sea.  Excess  aggravates  the  spe- 


88  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

cific  nervous  disorder  and  strengthens  the  tendency  of  such  per- 
sons to  transmit  evil  constitutions  to  their  children.  An  imper- 
fect nervous  organization,  poverty,  ignorance,  perpetuate  the 
criminal  class.  The  effect  of  depressed  vitality  alone  was  well 
exemplified  on  a  large  scale  during  the  siege  of  Paris,  in  1870, 
in  the  Franco-Prussian  war.  The  consequent  famine  brought 
into  existence  in  Paris  a  stunted  population  which  came  to  be 
known  as  "children  of  the  siege."  These  miserable  creatures 
came  into  the  world  physically,  mentally,  and  morally  defective. 
The  population,  too,  known  up  to  that  time  as  one  of  the  most 
temperate  in  the  world,  became  addicted  to  inordinate  stimulation 
from  the  drink  called  absinthe,  the  direct  consequence  of  general 
disorder  of  the  nervous  system,  brought  about  by  the  exertion, 
hunger,  anxiety  of  days  and  nights  passed  in  strenuous  defense 
of  the  city  from  the  surrounding  German  hosts. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 
How  TO  CULTIVATE  AND  PRESERVE  A  GOOD  COMPLEXION. 

TWO  important  elements  of  comeliness,   if  not  of  positive 
beauty,  are  somewhat  under  our  command.    These  are  the 
complexion  and  the  expression  of  the  face.    Of  the  expres- 
sion enough  has  been  said  in  the  preceding  chapter.    The  condi- 
tions upon  which,  from  nature,  a  good  complexion  depends,  have 
also  been  previously  described.     It  remains,  therefore,  only  to 
mention  briefly  how  it  may  be  preserved. 

The  skin  is,  as  has  already  been  pointed  out,  much  more 
than  a  mere  protective  envelope  for  the  parts  beneath  it.  It  does, 
in  fact,  besides  being  a  highly  protective  organ,  serve  a  greater 
variety  of  purposes  than  any  other  portion  of  the  body.  When 
the  complicated  offices  of  the  skin  are  perfectly  performed, 
it  is  in  the  best  possible  condition  of  healthiness.  A  skin  well 
nourished  by  blood  must  be  at  least  a  healthy  skin,  and  so  far  as 
its  physical  structure  admits,  at  least  a  sightly  one.  It  stands  to 
reason,  that  the  personal  habits  which  promote  the  nutrition  of 
other  organs,  favor  also  the  good  condition  of  the  skin.  All 
parts  of  the  body,  being  indissolubly  bound  together,  when  any 
one  part  suffers,  the  health  of  others  is  impaired.  The  skin  is 
peculiarly  susceptible  to  influence  from  the  internal  parts  of  the 
body.  It  is  also  necessarily  liable  to  injury  from  external  causes. 
It  must,  therefore,  be  frequently  and  thoroughly  cleansed,  for 
ablution  has  a  beneficial  effect,  not  only  upon  the  skin  itself, 
but  upon  every  other  portion  of  the  body.  Wholesome  blood 
is  attainable  only  by  temperance  in  all  things,  temperance  in  eat- 
ing and  drinking,  rational  exercise  of  mind  and  body,  judicious 
clothing,  ventilation,  with  avoidance  of  draughts,  resolute  absten- 
tion from  petty  worrying.  The  condition  of  the  blood  and  that 
of  the  nervous  system  are  the  chief  factors  producing  a  good 
complexion. 

The  skin  is  in  some  persons  of  a  more  delicate  texture 
than  it  is  in  the  case  of  others,  the  scarf-skin  is  softer  and 

89 


90  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

smoother.  An  inborn  inferiority  in  the  texture  of  the  skin  cannot, 
of  course,  be  overcome;  it  can  only  be  modified.  The  amount 
of  coloring  matter  in  it  cannot,  by  artificial  means,  be  either 
increased  or  diminished.  We  are  able,  however,  to  prevent,  by 
protecting  the  face  from  undue  exposure  to  the  sun,  an  increased 
deposition  of  pigment,  which  nature  throws  out,  with  oily  mat- 
ters, in  protecting  the  skin  from  excessive  heat.  The  health  and 
beauty  of  the  skin  depend  primarily  upon  the  general  constitution 
of  the  body.  Strict  obedience  to  the  laws  of  hygiene,  which 
have  just  been  detailed  under  the  counsel  of  temperance,  is  the 
indispensable  requisite  for  the  production  of  a  pure  and  pleas- 
ing appearance  of  the  complexion.  Those  largely  constitute, 
independent  of  regularity  of  features,  personal  beauty. 

There  is  a  close  connection  among  the  conditions  of  health, 
virtue,  and  beauty.  Healthy  people  enjoy  the  great  blessing  of 
steady  nerves.  They  are,  in  consequence,  able  to  bear,  as  petty, 
what  are  great  annoyances  to  persons  otherwise  constituted. 
They  are  thus  better  able  than  others  to  control  sudden  impulses. 
Composure  of  spirit  is  expressed  in  their  faces.  On  the  con- 
trary, those  who,  from  whatsoever  cause,  suffer  from  a  low  con- 
dition of  the  nervous  system,  ail,  not  only  in  body  but  in  mind. 
A  discontented,  often  peevish  expression,  is  stamped  upon  their 
faces.  The  complexion  inevitably  suffers;  if  they  once  had  a 
healthy  one,  it  is  succeeded  by  sallowness.  The  eyes  become  sur- 
rounded by  dark  circles,  and  the  habitual  action  of  certain  mus- 
cles of  the  face  develops  premature  lines  and  wrinkles. 

A  rational  system  of  bodily  education,  from  the  earliest 
years  of  life,  fortifies  the  general  system,  and  in  many  cases 
prevents  the  development  of  predisposition  from  congenital 
causes.  Thus,  when  any  person  has,  early  in  life,  an  unwhole- 
some, muddy  complexion,  or  an  eruption  upon  the  skin,  it 
becomes  advisable  for  a  physician  to  examine  minutely  into  the 
condition  of  all  the  organs  of  the  body.  Should  he  be  employed, 
he  inquires  closely  into  the  past  and  present  habits  of  the  patient, 
and  in  addition  to  purely  medicinal  treatment,  outlines  with 
great  care  a  regimen  of  diet,  exercise,  bathing,  and  recreation. 


CHAPTER    IX. 
THE  BATH. 

THE  cosmetic — that  is,  the  beautifying — and  the  hygienic — 
that  is,  the  health-giving — effects  of  cleanliness  are  closely 
allied.  If  the  watery  and  oily  liquids  which  are  secreted 
and  excreted  by  the  glands  of  the  skin  are  allowed  to  accumulate 
upon  its  surface,  they  soon  undergo  decomposition.  Evaporation 
of  the  perspiration  is  retarded.  These  liquids,  therefore,  need 
removal,  especially  in  summer,  by  means  of  pure  soap  and  water. 
If  allowed  to  remain  upon  the  surface  of  the  body,  these  cutane- 
ous secretions  create  in  the  course  of  time  an  obstruction  to  the 
escape  of  similarly  formed  matter  and  also  emit,  under  the  in- 
fluence of  heat,'  most  unpleasant  odor.  From  the  interior  of  the 
body  comes  this  waste;  but,  additionally,  from  the  exterior,  the 
body  receives  foreign  matter,  called  dirt,  which  should  be  con- 
stantly washed  away  in  the  interest  of  health  and  of  decent  ob- 
servance of  social  propriety.  A  dirty  skin  is  not  only  unsightly, 
but  it  is  unhealthy  to  the  owner,  and  offensive  to  the  sense  of 
smell. 

Among  the  substances  deposited  on  the  skin  are  the  micro- 
scopic organisms  called  microbes,  the  fertile  source  of  specific 
diseases.  Scientific  studies  of  the  last  twenty-five  years  have 
proved  that  very  many  of  the  disorders  to  which  humanity  is 
subject,  proceed  from  the  growth  of  these  germs.  Most  of 
them  belong  to  a  low  class  of  vegetable  life,  called  fungi,  and 
are  parasitic  in  their  nature.  A  skin  that  is  seldom  bathed 
affords  them  the  best  possible  field  for  growth.  As  they  multiply, 
and  they  do  so  with  exceeding  rapidity,  they  insinuate  themselves 
into  the  glands,  and  may  even  obtain  entrance  to  the  blood- 
vessels. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  skin  must  be  peculiarly  liable  to 
invasion  by  these  parasitic  organisms.  Like  seed,  they  cannot 


92  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

germinate  except  in  favorable  soil.  An  unclean  body  affords 
them  the  best,  a  clean  one  none  at  all.  If  the  skin  be  kept  per- 
fectly pure  by  frequent  ablution,  and  is  abundantly  supplied  with 
rich  blood,  it  is  fortified  against  the  encroachment  of  bacteria. 
If,  on  the  contrary,  cleanliness  be  neglected,  the  skin,  as  already 
said,  affords  the  most  favorable  conditions  for  their  reception 
and  growth.  It  has  been  discovered  by  most  elaborate  experi- 
ments and  observations,  that  these  minute  organisms  effect  dis- 
turbance, not  only  by  their  presence  and  infinite  numbers,  but 
also  by  their  yielding  a  by-product  of  a  poisonous  sort,  known 
as  ptomaine.  Doubtless  every  reader  of  these  lines  has  read  of 
fatal  cases  of  ptomaine  poisoning.  Those  relate  to  large  amounts 
of  ptomaine  taken  into  the  stomach.  But  the  same  poison,  in 
lesser  degree,  has  instant  action  upon  the  skin  where  pathological 
bacteria,  as  they  are  called,  disease-creating  bacteria,  are  present 
there,  and  they  give  rise  to  white  pimples,  abscesses,  boils,  car- 
buncles, erysipelas,  and  other  affections  of  the  skin.  Choked 
glands  always  have  a  tendency  to  disease.  An  unclean  skin  is 
exposed  to  morbific  influences  from  within  and  without. 
Through  bathing,  the  germs  are  removed,  the  surface  is  freed 
from  accumulations  of  all  sorts,  the  glands  of  the  skin  are  en- 
abled to  perform  their  functions  perfectly,  and  there  is  but  little 
danger  of  attack  by  those  affections  which  are  so  destructive  of 
the  skin  and  indirectly  injurious  to  the  body. 

A  crust  composed  of  pellicles  of  scarf-skin  (called,  on  the 
head,  dandruff,  but  falling  everywhere  from  the  body)  mingled 
with  secretions  and  foreign  impurities,  embarrasses  that  portion 
of  respiration  which  the  skin  performs.  This  respiration,  rela- 
tively small  as  it  is,  is  still  worthy  of  consideration  on  account 
of  the  part  that  it  plays  in  conveying  oxygen  to  the  blood  and 
removing  from  it  carbonic  acid.  Furthermore,  by  virtue  of  the 
intimate  sympathy  among  all  parts  of  the  body,  ablution  excites 
a  real  influence  over  it  in  its  entirety.  A  layer  of  foreign  matter, 
whencesoever  derived,  acts  as  a  mechanical  and  chemical  irritant ; 
through  the  effect  of  which  substances  which  should  find  their 


THE   BATH.  93 

natural  outlet  through  the  skin  burden  the  lungs  and  kidneys  to 
their  great  detriment. 

Apart  from  the  agency  derived  from  its  mere  chemical 
nature,  water  produces  different  effects  according  to  its  tempera- 
ture, the  manner  of  its  application,  and  the  constitution  of  the 
individual.  At  a  temperature  from  seventy-five  to  eighty-five, 
Fahrenheit,  water  has  no  specific  effect  upon  the  human  system, 
either  as  a  stimulant  or  a  depressant.  When  the  temperature  is 
raised  to  one  hundred,  the  first  effect  experienced  is  stimulant; 
but  if  the  application  be  much  prolonged,  the  effect  becomes  pro- 
foundly depressant.  The  impression  produced  by  warm  water 
on  the  nerves  of  the  skin  causes  dilatation  of  the  cutaneous 
blood-vessels,  and  therefore  an  increased  flow  of  blood  to  the 
surface  of  the  body.  Then  radiation  of  heat  from  the  distended 
vessels  (if  the  surrounding  atmosphere,  upon  getting  out  of  the 
bath,  be  lower),  produces  a  reduction  of  the  temperature  of  the 
body. 

On  the  contrary,  speaking  of  a  cold  bath,  its  first  effect  is 
the  contraction  of  the  surface  blood-vessels,  and  the  consequent 
repelling  of  heat  from  the  surface  of  the  body  to  its  interior. 
Subsequently,  when  getting  out  of  such  a  bath,  occurs,  in  the 
case  of  the  healthy  and  robust,  not  in  those  of  the  opposite  con- 
dition, what  is  called  reaction.  The  blood  which  had  been  re- 
pelled from  the  surface  rapidly  returns  to  it,  and  a  pleasant 
sensation  of  warmth  and  exhilaration  is  experienced.  With  this 
sensation  are  immediately  combined  increased  respiration  and 
general  circulation  and  the  nutritive,  glandular,  and  muscular 
organs  receive  stimulus.  It  follows,  from  what  has  been  said, 
that  the  distinctively  cold  bath  is  adapted  only  to  the  robust. 
The  weakly  are  depressed  by  it;  they  have  no  reaction,  they 
emerge  from  it  shivering,  with  livid  lips. 

The  benefits  of  the  cold  bath  are  obtained  in  the  highest 
degree  in  the  ocean's  surf.  A  number  of  circumstances  generally 
contribute  to  this:  the  stimulation  of  the  skin,  owing  to  the 
chemical  constitution  of  sea-water;  the  impact  of  the  waves 


94  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

upon  the  person  of  the  bather;  the  freedom  of  movement  in 
exercise;  and,  generally,  chosen  companionship.  Besides  these, 
is  the  influence  of  brightness,  sea-air,  and  the  view  of  the  ocean's 
expanse.  To  derive  perfect  benefit  from  this  kind  of  bathing, 
however,  the  water  should  be  left  before  the  stage  of  immersion 
has  been  reached  when  the  possibility  of  reaction  of  the  system 
from  cold  has  passed  away.  Even  to  some  persons  of  tolerable 
health,  but  delicate  physique,  reaction  is  tardy  in  taking  place, 
or  wholly  absent,  and  to  these  ocean-bathing  is  never  advan- 
tageous. 

Struck  by  the  combination  of  the  apparently  rude  health  and 
the  bedaubed  skins  of  some  of  the  children  reared  in  squalid  por- 
tions of  large  cities,  people  have  sometimes  asked  what  detri- 
ment from  dirt  these  children  have  suffered.  Their  immunity 
is  not  so  real  as  it  may  seem.  In  so  far  as  it  exists  it  is  attribu- 
table solely  to  the  influence  of  the  relatively  out-door  life  of  these 
children  as  compared  with  that  of  many  other  children.  But 
be  not  deceived  by  casual  observation  of  such  children.  It  is  the 
select  few  who  are  really  lusty  as  children.  Others  near  by  are 
bedridden,  in  small,  ill-ventilated  and  dirty  rooms,  suffering 
from  hip-disease,  abscesses,  affections  of  the  bones,  what  not; 
the  consequences  of  unhealthy  surroundings,  innutritive  or  in- 
sufficient food,  and  general  unhygienic  modes  of  life.  The  lusty 
children  seen  upon  the  streets  have  many  sick  brothers  and 
sisters ;  and  some  of  those  now  upon  the  streets  are  liable  in  time 
to  encounter  their  temporary  or  permanent  fate.  These  are 
the  kind  of  children  upon  whom  scrofula  often  sets  its  disfigur- 
ing marks.  Scrofula  runs  riot  in  the  dirty,  narrow  alleys  of  large 
cities.  Yet  its  outbreaks  may  often  be  prevented,  and  are  always 
mitigated,  by  ventilation,  food,  exercise,  and  cleanliness. 

A  very  striking  illustration  of  the  consequences  of  insuffi- 
cient food  and  anxiety  was  afforded  by  the  physical  condition  of 
children  born  in  Paris  during  its  siege  by  the  Germans  in  the 
Franco-Prussian  war.  Mention  has  been  made  in  a  previous 
chapter  of  the  stunted  generation  of  Paris  following  the  siege, 


THE    BATH.  95 

called  "the  children  of  the  siege;"  but  this  now  relates  to  the 
diseases  to  which  they  were  heirs  at  birth.  Monsieur  Legrand 
du  Saulle  published  the  results  of  his  observation  of  ninety-two 
children  born  during  the  siege.  Of  this  number,  sixty-four 
were  deficient,  either  in  mind  or  body.  He  divides  these  sixty- 
four  into  three  groups.  In  the  first,  numbering  thirty-five,  he 
found  children  with  retreating  foreheads,  scrofula,  strabismus 
(cross-eyes),  club-foot,  incontinence  of  urine,  and  rachitis 
(rickets).  In  the  second  group,  numbering  twenty-one,  were 
presented  moroseness,  apathy,  inability  to  fix  the  attention,  semi- 
imbecility,  and  idiocy.  In  the  third  group,  numbering  eight, 
were  observed  wilfulness,  viciousness,  quarrelsomeness,  and 
egotistical  qualities. 

Baths  are  called  general  or  partial,  according  as  the  whole 
body,  or  only  a  portion  of  it,  is  immersed.  The  general  bath 
may  be  taken  in  a  tub,  or  if,  for  any  reason,  this  method  is 
not  practicable,  by  what  is  called  the  sponge-bath,  because  the 
whole  body  is  bathed  with  a  wetted  sponge.  In  any  case,  the 
water  itself  should  be  regulated  in  temperature  according  to  the 
season  of  the  year,  the  physical  condition  of  the  bather,  and  the 
object  for  which  the  bath  is  taken.  For  purposes  of  cleanliness, 
the  bather  being  in  good  health,  the  water  should  be  tepid. 
In  winter,  the  bath  may  be  taken  somewhat  warmer  than  in 
spring  or  autumn,  and  in  summer  may  be  advantageously  taken 
cold.  For  those  to  whom  the  shock  of  entering  cold  water  is 
unpleasant,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  fill  the  bath-tub  with  lukewarm 
water,  and  when  the  body  is  immersed  in  that,  gradually  to 
lower  the  temperature  by  the  cold  water  faucet,  until  the  water 
becomes  of  the  degree  of  coolness  indicated  by  experience  for  com- 
fort. In  summer  it  is  very  refreshing,  and  also  conducive  to 
sleep,  to  take  a  cool  bath  just  before  going  to  bed.  In  winter,  a 
slightly  warmer  bath  just  before  retiring,  is  conducive  to  sleep. 
Warm  baths  are  soothing  to  the  nervous  system;  so  much  so, 
that  children  taken  squalling  with  colic  out  of  bed  and  plunged 
therein  are  often  instantly  relieved  of  pain  by  the  process. 


96  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

There  may  be  some  slight  danger  among  extremely  deli- 
cate persons  in  taking  general  baths  in  winter,  unless  they  adopt 
the  following  simple  precautions,  which,  knowing,  they  would 
be  foolish  not  to  adopt.  Bathe  in  tepid  water,  dry  the  skin 
thoroughly  with  towels,  take  a  little  calisthenic  exercise  to  pro- 
mote circulation,  pass  from  the  bath,  if  through  cooler  atmos- 
phere than  that  of  its  room,  protected  by  a  morning-gown,  or  by 
something  thrown  around  the  shoulders;  and  then,  before  ven- 
turing into  the  cold  street,  wait  for  the  acquisition  by  the  body  of 
about  the  same  surrounding  temperature  as  that  before  the 
bath  was  taken.  These  remarks  apply,  of  course,  only  to  the 
bathing  of  persons  of  an  extremely  feeble  habit  of  body. 

There  is  no  recommendation  here  of  bathing  in  ice-cold 
water.  The  writer  well  remembers  the  braggadocio  of  a  young 
man  who  plumed  himself  upon  breaking  a  skim  of  ice  prepara- 
tory to  taking  his  daily  morning  bath.  He  proved  to  be  con- 
stitutionally a  very  weak  young  man,  whose  early  death  must 
have  been  hastened  by  his  imprudence.  The  sensations  of  the 
bather  are  a  much  safer  test  than  the  thermometer,  of  the  tem- 
perature at  which  a  bath  should  be  taken.  It  should  never  be 
forgotten,  however,  that  when  the  constitution  is  good,  its 
resistant  power  is  increased.  Its  reaction  is  evidence  of  the  fact 
that  it  is  invigorated  by  the  administration  of  moderately  cold 
water :  that  is,  by  what  we  call  cool  water. 

Shower-baths  and  douches  are  sometimes  very  beneficial  to 
the  system.  They  arouse  reaction  by  the  force  with  which  the 
water  strikes  against  the  skin.  The  douche  is  best  applied  by 
means  of  a  rubber  hose  attached  to  a  faucet,  terminating  in  a 
broad  nozzle.  By  it,  a  heavy  stream  can  be  directed  against  any 
part  of  the  body.  Some  nozzles  are  so  constructed  as  to  change 
the  jet  from  a  single  stream  to  a  spray;  and,  again,  there  are 
manufactured  nozzles  of  different  calibers.  The  influence  of  the 
douche  is  to  increase  the  depth  of  breathing,  strengthening  the 
action  of  the  heart,  and  augmentation  of  the  secretions. 

There  are  many  persons,   especially  in  large  cities,   who, 


THE    BATH.  97 

although  they  may  not  be  looked  upon  by  themselves  or  by  others 
as  distinctively  invalids,  are  nevertheless,  in  a  very  low  condition 
of  health.  They  go  about,  transact  business,  take  part  in  social 
affairs,  but  at  considerable  stress  upon  their  small  vitality.  Too 
often  their  persistence  in  enforced  activities  proves  the  forerun- 
ner, the  entering  wedge,  of  their  collapse.  Slight  functional  de- 
rangements gradually  become  converted  into  severe  organic  and 
irremediable  maladies.  Much  can  be  accomplished  even  in  such 
cases,  by  strict  regulation  of  habits,  the  observance  of  perfectly 
hygienic  modes  of  life.  They  should  be  instructed  as  to  the 
best  mode  to  pursue  for  securing  all  the  strength  and  elasticity  of 
body  of  which  their  constitutions  are  capable.  The  employment 
of  water,  for  example,  is  most  desirable  in  the  treatment  of  dis- 
ease. When  circumstances  do  not  admit  of  total  immersion  of 
the  body,  an  advantageous  procedure  is  found  in  the  application 
to  it  of  the  wet  sponge.  The  sponge  is  pressed  upon  and  rubbed 
along  the  body  and  the  little  streams  trickling  from  it  produce 
a  most  grateful  sensation.  Benefit  from  the  sponge-bath  is  in- 
creased by  sitting  or  standing  in  the  hip-bath  tub  or  in  the  ordi- 
nary bath-tub.  After  the  body  has  been  liberally  flooded  with 
water,  the  lather  of  soap  can  be  pleasantly  applied  and  finally 
washed  away  with  plain  water.  An  incidental  advantage  of  the 
sponge-bath  for  delicate  persons  is  that  it  may  be  applied  upon 
different  parts  without  exposing  the  whole  body  at  the  same 
time. 

When  the  general  bath  is  used,  and,  above  all,  the  shower- 
bath,  women  should  protect  their  hair  from  wet  by  an  oil-skin 
cap.  After  bathing  they  should  thoroughly  dry  the  skin  with 
a  rough  towel,  and  stimulate  it  by  the  use  of  the  flesh-brush. 
It  is  not,  however,  desirable  to  employ  towels  so  harsh  as  to 
rasp  the  skin,  or  flesh-brushes  that  are  exceedingly  stiff  in  their 
bristles.  A  huckaback  or  a  Turkish  towel  makes  a  very  good  ap- 
pliance for  the  bathroom.  The  good  effect  of  the  bath  upon  the 
secretions  and  circulation  of  the  skin,  its  nerves  and  respiratory 
function,  and  the  general  nutrition  of  the  body  is  attested  by  the 

7 


98  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

pleasurable  sensation  accompanying  and  following  its  admin- 
istration. 

By  reason  of  the  exercise  and  other  features  of  sea-bathing, 
already  enumerated,  prolonged  enjoyment  of  it  may  eventuate  in 
a  frame  fatigued,  chilled,  and  weakened.  While  it  is  admitted 
that  sea-baths  are  highly  beneficial  if  taken  with  prudence,  that 
they  promote  appetite,  digestion,  and  general  health,  it  must 
also  be  confessed  that  they  are  generally  abused.  It  is  too  much 
the  practice  of  persons  to  remain  in  the  water  long  after  the 
stage  of  possible  reaction  has  passed.  The  skin  has  become 
cold  and  shrunken ;  that  is  easily  seen  on  the  finger-tips,  and  the 
lips  have  become  either  pale  or  livid.  It  is  only  with  reasonable 
self-control  that  surf-bathing  is  advantageous,  and  then  only  to 
those  who  are  either  without  any  actual  disease,  or  who  have 
not  been  debilitated  by  long,  continuous  labor  of  some  sort. 
Violent  diarrhoeas  have  been  known  to  occur  from  long  and 
repeated  immersions  in  sea-water.  Cases  have  been  known 
where  women  went  into  the  ocean  three  times  in  a  single  day. 
Sea-bathing  is,  nevertheless,  beneficial,  if  judiciously  employed, 
even  in  the  cases  of  persons  who  have  recently  risen  from  an 
exhaustive  illness,  and  consumptives  are  often  invigorated  by 
it.  The  persons  who  are  most  improved  or  relieved  by  it  are 
those  whose  disease  is  either  quite  stationary,  or,  at  least,  seems 
to  make  little  progress.  When  lungs,  however,  are  actually 
undergoing  degeneration,  as  evidenced  by  cough  and  expectora- 
tion, afternoon  fever,  and  night-sweats,  surf-bathing  is  most 
scrupulously  to  be  avoided. 

Persons  should  not  bathe  in  tubs,  river,  or  sea,  while  the 
act  of  digestion  after  a  meal  is  going  on.  It  is  best  to  allow 
an  hour,  better,  three  hours,  after  eating,  before  entering  the 
water.  Without  this  precaution  the  digestion  is  seriously  dis- 
turbed. The  fashionable  hour  at  the  seaside,  unless  on  shores 
where  low-water  makes  that  time  impracticable,  is  eleven  o'clock 
in  the  morning.  It  is  an  hour  which  well  accords  with  what  is 
prescribed  by  physiology;  the  stomach,  by  that  time  after  the 


THE    BATH.  99 

usual  hour  of  breakfast,  having  mainly  digested  and  absorbed 
its  food  and  being  comparatively  empty. 

As  mankind  must  have  had  its  rise  in  tropical,  semi-tropical, 
or,  at  least,  in  warm  climates,  the  cosmetic  and  the  hygienic 
advantages  of  bathing  must  have  been  early  discovered  by  the 
human  race.  Savage  tribes,  although  not  always  punctillious 
regarding  cleanliness,  generally  recognize  the  tonic  and  pleasur- 
able effects  of  bathing  in  moving  water.  An  observer,  of  some 
forty  odd  years  ago,  saw  that  some  of  the  Indian  women  of  the 
Northwest  Pacific  Coast  daily  retired  to  sequestered  spots  on 
the  shore,  and  there  bathed.  He  also  observed  that  they  then 
put  on  again  their  soiled  and  greasy  garments;  but,  poor 
creatures,  that  is  not  to  be  set  down  to  their  discredit,  for  they 
had  no  other  clothes  than  those  which  they  were  wearing.  So  it 
has  been  with  many  other  savages.  The  people  of  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  have  been  known,  from  the  earliest  time  at  which  their 
acquaintance  as  pure  savages  was  made,  to  be  extraordinarily 
addicted  to  bathing  and  swimming.  It  surely  is  greatly  prefer- 
able to  put  on  dirty  clothes  over  sweet  skins,  than  to  cover  dirty 
skins  with  fine  clothes,  as  is  well  known  to  physicians  to  be 
a  condition  not  infrequent  in  the  midst  of  the  highest  civilization. 

Savages  who  dwell  near  the  margins  of  rivers  and  the  sea- 
coast  become  expert  swimmers.  The  proximity  of  alligators, 
crocodiles,  hippopotami,  and  sharks  does  not  always  deter  them 
from  entering  the  water.  They  even  become  so  familiar  with  the 
element  in  such  places,  and  with  the  habits  of  the  dangerous 
creatures  that  frequent  it,  that  they  therein  wage  war  with  them 
with  nearly  as  much  confidence  as  with  the  ferocious  animals  that 
inhabit  the  land.  The  Polynesian  Islanders,  men,  women,  and 
children,  almost  live  in  the  ocean,  tireless  in  swimming,  and  take 
the  greatest  delight  in  tossing  through  a  heavy  surf. 

Civilized  people  always  did,  but  do  so  now  more  than  ever, 
recognize  the  value  of  water  as  serving  the  purposes  of  cleanliness 
and  health.  The  laws  of  Moses  mention  conditions  in  which 
bathing  shall  be  performed  as  a  religious  rite,  associated  with 


IOO  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

moral  purification.  The  influence  of  constant  bathing  in  pro- 
tecting the  ancient  Jews  from  prevalent  diseases  of  the  skin 
must  have  been  great.  It  was  the  custom  in  Palestine  for  the 
wealthier  classes  there  to  have  private  bathrooms  in  their  homes. 
Public  bath-houses  were  furnished  to  the  poor.  Other  races  of 
antiquity  associated  personal  bodily  purity  with  moral  purifica- 
tion. Bathing  was  a  consecrated  ceremonial,  as  well  as  a  mode 
of  securing  personal  cleanliness,  practiced  among  the  Egyptians. 
Mention  is  made  of  the  bath  in  their  earliest  written  records. 
In  the  Biblicial  account  of  the  discovery  of  the  infant,  Moses, 
in  the  bullrushes,  we  read  that  "the  daughter  of  Pharaoh  came 
down  to  wash  herself  in  the  river."  Ancient  East  Indian  litera- 
ture refers  to  bathing  in  the  river  Ganges  as  a  common  practice. 
The  Greeks  were  early  addicted  to  bathing  and  swimming. 
References  to  the  practice  are  found  in  Homer.  The  houses 
of  the  wealthier  Athenians,  in  later  times,  were  furnished  with 
bath-rooms,  and  subsequently  public  baths  were  established. 
The  immoderate  use  of  the  warm  bath  was  regarded  by  the 
Greeks  as  a  sign  of  effeminacy.  The  great  luxury  of  the  baths 
of  Persia  excited  the  admiration  of  Alexander  the  Great  when 
he  invaded  that  empire. 

The  elaborate  development  of  the  bath,  at  the  time  of  Rome 
under  the  Empire,  can  never  be  surpassed.  In  the  early  days 
of  the  Roman  Republic,  bathing  in  the  river  Tiber  was  the  usual 
practice  among  Rome's  citizens.  Shakespeare,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, represents  Caesar  as  swimming  across  the  Tiber,  and,  fail- 
ing in  strength,  calling  upon  Cassius  to  save  him  from  drowning. 
When  the  city  of  Rome  had  greatly  extended  its  bounds,  and 
great  quantities  of  water  were  brought  into  it  by  the  immense 
aqueducts  constructed,  and  then  distributed  through  pipes,  pri- 
vate and  public  bathing  apartments  were  built.  At  first  cold 
water  was  exclusively  used,  but  as  the  people  gradually  lost  their 
hardiness,  luxury  grew,  and  the  warm  bath  became  popular. 
Magnificent  bathing  establishments  were  erected,  not  only  in 
Rome,  but  in  the  principal  cities  of  the  Roman  provinces.  The 


THE    BATH.  IOI 

public  baths  became  resorts  for  people  assembled,  not  only  for  the 
purpose  of  bathing,  but  for  that  of  social  intercourse  and  political 
discussion.  Some  of  the  structures  were  of  immense  size,  and 
within  their  enclosure  were  sometimes  gardens,  rows  of  trees, 
lounging  and  reading-rooms,  theatres,  spaces  for  games,  etc., 
and  admission  to  their  palatial  establishment  was  charged  for 
at  very  low  prices.  At  times,  an  Emperor,  in  order  to  ingratiate 
himself  with  the  populace,  would  make  the  bath  free  to  all  with- 
out cost.  Immense  amounts  were  lavished  on  their  establish- 
ments, which  contained  not  only  swimming  and  warm  water 
baths,  but  hot  air  and  vapor  baths.  There  were  dressing-rooms 
from  which  the  bathers  passed  successively  into  a  cool  apartment, 
thence  into  a  moderately  heated  one,  and  finally  into  the  hot 
room  situated  immediately  over  the  furnaces.  These  contained 
both  water  and  vapor  baths. 

An  ingenious  and  effective  system  was  in  use  in  the  Roman 
baths  by  which  water  was  heated  and  the  temperature  of  separate 
rooms  regulated  with  precision.  The  body  of  the  intending 
bather  was  annointed  before  entering  the  water,  and  the  trans- 
ition from  hot  to  cold  rooms  was  arranged  so  as  to  be  scarcely 
perceptible  to  the  feeling.  The  rooms  were  furnished  with  seats 
at  different  elevations,  and  it  was  customary,  for  the  sake  of 
exercise,  to  engage  in  various  games,  especially  that  of  ball,  in 
passing  from  the  dressing-room  to  the  bathing-room.  Whenever 
hot  natural  springs  were  found  within  their  territories,  the 
Romans  were  accustomed  to  utilize  them  and  thus  save  the 
expense  of  heating  bathing-water.  Besides  these  great  public 
baths  in  the  cities,  were  smaller  ones  where  private  bathing- 
rooms  could  be  hired.  And  then,  as  already  mentioned,  there 
were  the  strictly  private  bath-rooms  in  the  homes  of  citizens 
of  Rome. 

Gibbon,  the  historian,  gives  the  following  brief  description 
of  the  bath-houses  of  ancient  Rome:  "The  stupendous  aque- 
ducts, so  justly  celebrated  by  Augustus  himself,  replenished  the 
Thermae,  or  baths,  which  had  been  constructed  in  every  part 


IO2  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

of  the  city  with  imperial  magnificance.  The  baths  of  Antonius 
Caracalla,  which  were  open  at  stated  hours  for  the  indiscriminate 
service  of  the  senators  and  the  people,  contained  about  sixteen 
hundred  seats  of  marble;  and  more  than  three  thousand  were 
reckoned  in  the  baths  of  Diocletian.  The  walls  of  the  lofty 
apartments  were  covered  with  curious  mosaics,  that  imitated  the 
art  of  the  pencil  in  the  elegance  of  the  design  and  the  variety 
of  colors.  The  Egyptian  granite  was  beautifully  encrusted  with 
the  precious  green  marble  of  Numidia;  the  perpetual  stream  of 
hot  water  was  poured  into  the  capacious  basins  through  so 
many  wide  mouths  of  bright  and  massy  silver ;  and  the  meanest 
Roman  could  purchase,  with  a  small  copper  coin,  the  daily  en- 
joyment of  a  scene  of  pomp  and  luxury  which  might  excite  the 
envy  of  the  Kings  of  Asia." 

So  enormous  was  the  size  of  these  edifices  that  the  enclos- 
ing walls  of  the  baths  of  Caracalla  made  an  area  of  about 
a  sixteenth  of  a  mile  square ;  that  is,  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
long  on  each  side.  A  single  room  became  there  converted,  in 
Christian  times,  into  a  large  church.  A  Latin  writer  of  the 
fourth  century  speaks,  in  describing  the  visit  of  the  Byzantine 
Emperor  to  Rome,  of  "the  spacious  baths  spreading  around  like 
provinces." 

After  the  fall  of  Roman  power,  these  immense  bath  es- 
tablishments could  no  longer  be  financially  maintained.  On  ac- 
count of  the  abuses  with  which  they  were  often  connected,  they 
were  discountenanced  by  the  early  Christians,  who  practiced 
ablution,  not  for  pleasure,  but  solely  for  the  sake  of  cleanliness 
and  health.  Baths  were,  however,  continued  at  Alexandria  and 
other  large  cities. 

Scrupulous  cleanliness  being  enjoined  by  Mahomet,  Arabs 
and  Turks  adopted  the  bathing  practices  which  were  prevalent 
in  Egypt.  The  transitions  of  the  Turkish  bath  from  warm  to 
hot  apartments,  in  copious  perspiration,  cold  affusions,  and  mas- 
sage, are  familiar  to  most  readers.  This  species  of  bathing  was 
introduced  into  mediaeval  Europe  by  the  Crusaders,  after  expe- 


THE    BATH.  103 

rience  of  Eastern  customs  when  seeking  to  recover  the  Holy 
Sepulchre.  The  Russian  bath  is  of  well-defined  character.  The 
undressed  bather  is  escorted  into  a  room  surrounded  by  a  wooden 
platform  that  rises  in  steps  nearly  to  the  ceiling.  He  lies  down 
upon  one  of  the  lower  degrees  just  made,  and  gradually  ascends 
to  the  higher  and  hotter  ones;  the  heat  of  the  room  becoming, 
of  course,  greater  and  greater  towards  the  ceiling.  Vapor  for 
the  apartment  is  produced  by  throwing  water  upon  glowing  hot 
stones.  The  temperature  is  between  one  hundred  and  forty  and 
one  hundred  and  forty-five  degrees,  Fahrenheit.  At  the  first  of 
its  administration,  a  slight  sensation  of  suffocation  may  be  ex- 
perienced; but,  if  so,  it  soon  passes  away  with  the  flow  of 
profuse  perspiration.  A  much  simpler  and  more  agreeable 
mode  of  the  administration  of  the  Russian  bath  the  writer 
once  saw  in  San  Francisco,  California.  The  greatesjt  objection 
to  a  common  apartment  for  all  bathers,  indiscriminately,  is  that 
they  are  enveloped  in  the  same  cloud  of  vapor,  which  must, 
therefore,  hold  microscopical  particles  from  the  skin  exposed  to 
it,  which  particles  must,  therefore,  be  taken  in  with  the  breath 
of  the  bathers.  It  is  not  an  agreeable  idea  to  have  so  promiscu- 
ous a  bath,  even  if  it  be  not,  in  the  feature  mentioned,  deleterious. 
But  apart  from  the  question,  supposing  the  hot  vapor  to  be  per- 
fectly pure,  it  is  neither  agreeable  to  breathe  it,  nor  is  breath- 
ing it  conducive  to  more  efficacy  in  the  vapor  bath.  The  appli- 
ance in  San  Francisco  was  simply  a  roomy  box  which  opened 
with  folding  doors  up  to  the  height  of  about  four  feet,  whence 
it  slanted  off  towards  the  apex.  The  bather  stepped  inside,  after 
the  folding  doors  were  opened,  and  took  his  seat  on  a  bench  at 
the  back  of  the  box ;  the  doors  were  then  closed,  a  wooden  cov- 
ering applied  to  the  slant  of  the  box  above  them,  and  finally, 
at  the  apex,  two  light  boards,  each  reamed  out  to  a  half  circle  at 
its  end,  were  slid  in  position  to  enclose  his  neck,  between  the 
edges  of  which  and  the  neck  a  towel  was  neatly  tucked.  So  the 
bather  sat,  secure  from  the  fumes  of  vapor,  whether  plain  or 
medicated,  with  his  head  out  in  the  pleasant  atmosphere  of  the 


IO4  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

room,  while  his  right  hand  controlled  the  stop-cock  for  vapor, 
which  he  could  administer  to  any  degree  of  heat  that  suited 
the  fancy.  This,  followed  by  massage,  and  a  most  soothing  nap 
under  a  blanket  in  a  cool  spot,  made  such  an  enjoyment  as  would 
be  fit  for  the  gods. 

Both  the  Turkish  and  the  Russian  baths  (the  Turkish  one 
not  being  vaporous)  are  valuable,  not  only  as  a  means  of  cleanli- 
ness, but  on  account  of  the  luxurious  sensations  by  which  they 
are  followed.  Discreetly  used,  they  are  conducive  to  health,  and, 
indeed,  have  the  power  to  put  a  sudden  stop  to  some  forms  of 
illness.  They  are,  however,  inappropriate  and  even  dangerous 
to  persons  with  weak  hearts,  or  with  tendency  of  blood  to  the 
head.  In  the  former,  they  may  cause  collapse,  and  in  the  latter, 
apoplexy.  There  is  another  qualification,  too,  regarding  their 
use,  mention  of  which  should  not  be  omitted.  They  raise  the 
temperature  of  the  cuticle  to  so  high  a  point,  and  leave  it  so 
acutely  sensitive,  that  the  bather  cannot,  without  a  long  period 
of  gradually  cooling  off,  after  indulging  in  either  of  them,  go 
into  the  winter  air  without  incurring  the  greatest  risk.  The 
benefit  of  the  vapor  bath  was  discovered  even  by  the  savage 
Indians  of  North  America.  They  built  air-tight  ovens  close  to 
the  margin  of  a  stream,  filled  it  with  vapor  from  water  thrown 
on  red-hot  stones ;  and  when  they  were  in  the  most  profuse  per- 
spiration, threw  themselves  into  the  river  and  vigorously  swam. 
Had  they  not  exercised  violently,  their  baths  would  have  done 
them  more  harm  than  good,  would  perhaps  have  been  fatal. 

The  Japanese  are  fonder  of  bathing  than  are  any  people 
of  modern  times  of  whom  we  know.  They  are  much  addicted 
to  the  use  of  hot  baths.  To  this  practice  of  theirs  some  writers 
ascribe  their  remarkable  immunity  from  rheumatism.  But  this 
is  not  a  legitimate  conclusion.  Hot  baths  do  sometimes  relieve 
the  pains  of  chronic  rheumatism,  but  climate  and  idiosyncrasy 
of  the  individual  have  more  to  do  than  any  practice  in  bathing 
with  susceptibility  to  rheumatism.  There  are  other  diseases 
from  which  the  Japanese  and  other  Asiatics  are  notably  free. 


THE   BATH.  IO5 

Scarlet  fever  is  unknown  among  the  natives  of  Japan  and  Hindo- 
stan. 

Cold  water  is  much  less  efficient  than  warm  water  for  se- 
curing cleanliness.  It  is,  however,  more  tonic  than  warm  water, 
and,  with  facilities  for  bathing  of  the  modern  sort,  warm  water 
can  be  used  for  its  cleansing  and  cold  water,  following  it,  for  its 
tonic  quality.  The  film,  of  which  we  have  previously  spoken 
here  as  tending  to  form  on  the  body,  consisting  of  a  mixture 
of  pellicles  of  dead  scarf-skin  and  fatty  matter  and  various  de- 
posits from  within  and  without,  composed  of  organic  and  inor- 
ganic substances,  cannot  all  be  dissolved  by  cold  water.  But  some 
substances  do  not  readily  dissolve  even  in  warm  water.  There- 
fore, for  a  perfectly  cleansing  bath  is  needed  a  substance  capable 
of  making  a  solution  of  any  foreign  substances,  especially  oily 
matters,  present  on  the  skin.  This  substance  is  a  properly  pre- 
pared, pure  soap. 

Soap  is  a  combination  of  fatty  substance  with  alkali,  such 
as  soda,  and,  as  such,  is  soluble  in  water.  In  addition  to  its  re- 
moving dirt,  the  friction  accompanying  its  application  stimulates 
the  circulation  and  tone  of  the  skin.  The  water  used  should  not 
be  very  hot  nor  the  soap  be  too  frequently  nor  lavishly  used. 
Good  soap  should  be  of  neutral  reaction;  that  is,  it  should  con- 
tain but  little  free  alkali — alkali  combined  with  fat.  An  exact 
combination  of  fat  and  alkali,  by  chemical  skill,  produces  a  soap 
of  neutral  reaction,  or,  in  other  words,  a  soap  that  is  neither 
distinctively  acid  nor  alkaline.  The  precise  result  is,  however, 
seldom  or  never  attained  in  the  manufacture  of  a  soap.  We  must 
try,  in  choosing  a  soap,  to  obtain  the  nearest  approach  to  it. 
The  presence  in  soap  of  an  excessive  amount  of  alkali  acts  upon 
the  skin  as  an  irritant,  and  may  even  produce  on  it  a  caustic 
effect.  Less  alkali  may  still  be  injurious  in  the  same  way,  but  in 
lesser  degree,  by  dissolving  the  fai  of  the  scarf-skin,  leaving  it 
dry,  harsh,  and  easily  disposed  to  crack.  Many  soaps  sold  for 
toilet  use  are  attractive  to  sight  and  smell,  but  are  no  more  fit 
to  be  used  upon  the  skin  than  is  laundry  soap.  The  essential 


IO6  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

oils  often  used  to  give  an  agreeable  perfume  to  toilet  soap,  are 
often  irritant  to  the  skin.  The  same  remark  may  frequently  be 
applied  to  the  pigments  which  afford  the  brilliant  colors  employed 
in  soaps  to  attract  the  eye  of  purchasers.  Cocoanut-oil  soap  is 
undesirable  for  the  toilet  on  account  of  its  requiring  a  large 
amount  of  alkali  to  saponify  the  oil.  The  finished  product  re- 
tains a  surplusage  of  lye,  besides  other  irritants,  and  the  oil 
itself  is  extremely  liable  to  decomposition.  The  single  advan- 
tage that  cocoanut-oil  soap  has  over  other  soaps  is  that  it  dis- 
solves in  salt  water,  and  therefore  may,  on  occasions,  be  more 
useful  than  any  other  at  sea.  Hence  it  is  often  called  the  marine 
soap. 

Many  soaps  that  are  sold  for  the  toilet  contain  injurious 
adulterations  which  seriously  diminish  their  usefulness.  Resin 
is  one  of  their  commonest  impurities,  being  introduced  in  soaps 
because  it  has  the  effect  of  saponifying  fat  with  the  minimum 
expenditure  of  soda.  The  presence  in  soap  of  a  considerable 
amount  of  resin  is  decidedly  irritant  to  a  delicate  skin.  Other 
substances  often  added  to  soap  are  pearl-ash,  silicate  of  soda, 
starch,  sugar,  and  an  excess  of  common  salt.  These  ingredients 
are  either  harmful  in  themselves,  or  are  transformed  by  com- 
bination with  soda-lye  into  deleterious  substances.  So-called 
transparent  glycerin  soaps  are  frequently  made  without  a  particle 
of  glycerin,  their  transparency  being  produced  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  sugar  in  them,  of  which  article  they  may  contain  even  a 
larger  quantity  than  of  soapy  material.  Such  adulterations 
are  useless  for  cleansing  purposes  and  may  be  positively  injurious 
to  the  skin. 

A  number  of  oleaginous  and  demulcent,  or  even  slightly 
stimulant  substances  may  make  very  acceptable  additions  to  soap 
intended  for  toilet  use.  These,  equally  distributed  through  the 
mass,  and  mingling  with  the  lather,  produce  both  a  softening 
and  tonic  effect  as  distinguished  from  the  detergent,  the  cleans- 
ing action  of  the  soap.  Lanolin,  for  instance,  is  a  peculiar  kind 
of  fat  obtained  from  sheep's  wool.  It  possesses  the  admirable 


THE    BATH. 

property  among  fats  of  being  less  liable  than  they  to  decompo- 
sition. For  softening  the  skin,  it  may  be  used  either  in  the  form 
of  composition  with  a  soap,  or  as  what  is  called  "lanolin-milk." 
Lanolin-milk  is  prepared  by  mixing  seventy-five  grains  of  lanolin 
with  about  a  fluidounce  of  water,  gently  heating  the  mixture, 
and  adding  to  it  sixty  grains  of  neutral  soap  dissolved  in  a 
fluidounce  of  water.  The  whole  is  then  thoroughly  mixed, 
enough  warm  water  added  to  it  to  make  about  twelve  fluidounces, 
and  the  mass  thoroughly  shaken  in  a  bottle.  Pure  lanolin  is 
white  and  has  scarcely  any  odor.  When  added  to  soap,  it  neu- 
tralizes any  solvent  or  irritant  action  due  to  the  presence 
in  it  of  too  much  alkali.  A  pure  glycerin  soap  is  an  excellent 
preparation  for  the  skin,  especially  in  the  winter,  when  the 
hands  have  a  tendency  to  become  chapped.  It  should  contain, 
if  properly  made,  equal  quantities  of  pure,  hard  soap  and  glycerin. 
An  excess  of  glycerin  dissolves  the  soap  and  produces  in  it  a 
feeble  lather.  Some  good  soaps  contain  bran,  oatmeal,  marsh- 
mallow,  and  pine-needle  extract.  In  concluding  the  subject, 
it  is  advisable  to  remark,  that  although  soap  is  needful  for  the 
removal  of  bodily  impurities,  an  excessive  use  of  it  is  objection- 
able, and  that  it  may  even  cause  tetter.  Water  is  capable,  when 
combined  with  certain  substances,  of  exciting  the  skin  to  eczema. 
Inactivity  or  torpidity  of  the  liver  is  a  very  common  affec- 
tion, and  manifests  itself  in  a  sallow  complexion,  impairment 
of  appetite  and  digestion,  depression  of  spirits,  and  sometimes 
in  eruptions  and  itching  of  the  skin.  The  concomitant,  slug- 
gish circulation  of  the  blood  through  the  liver  is  stimulated  by 
bathing,  through  its  attraction  of  blood  to  the  surface  of  the 
body.  When  blood  flows  more  actively  through  the  liver,  its 
cells  become  more  plentifully  supplied  with  their  needed  food 
of  oxygen,  and  beginning  to  resume  more  effectively  their  re- 
tarded labors,  digestion  and  general  nutrition  of  the  body  are 
improved.  Bathing,  under  proper  regulations,  is  beneficial  in 
anaemia,  obesity,  chronic  rheumatism,  neuralgia,  St.  Vitus's 
dance,  and  other  nervous  maladies.  The  systematic  employment 


IO8  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

of  water  in  various  diseases  has  of  late  years  engaged  the  care- 
ful attention  of  physicians,  and  it  has  been  found  of  great  ser- 
vice in  a  number  of  constitutional  disorders,  acute  and  chronic. 
These  cases,  however,  demand  the  attendance  of  a  medical  man ; 
the  administration  of  bathing  for  them  should  be  entirely  by  his 
prescription. 

Diseases  of  the  skin  fall  within  the  category  of  those  devia- 
tions from  health  which,  ordinarily,  do  not  prevent  attention  to 
business.  But  they  often  expose  the  sufferer  to  an  amount  of 
mortification  out  of  proportion  to  their  real  severity,  and  this  is 
particularly  so  in  the  cases  of  young  women.  Many  of  these 
cases  are  chronic  in  their  nature.  Pimples,  known  as  acne  to 
the  medical  profession,  can  be  treated  advantageously  by  the 
application  to  the  skin  of  water  as  hot  as  it  can  be  borne.  The 
treatment  is  particularly  useful  in  the  most  inveterate  form 
of  the  disease,  where  the  pimples  are  large,  hard,  and  of  a  dark 
red  color. 

Hot  water  baths  are  valuable  when  the  perspiratory  function 
is  deranged.  There  are  cases  in  which  the  perspiration  is  more 
or  less  suppressed,  which  affection  may  involve  only  a  part ;  or, 
again,  the  whole  surface  is  affected,  feels  dry  and  rough  to  the 
touch,  and  itches  and  burns.  This  affection  is  medically  known 
as  anidrosis.  It  is  generally  caused  by  some  impairment  of  the 
health,  and  is,  therefore,  simply  one  of  the  symptoms  of  constitu- 
tional impairment  from  some  underlying  malady.  Its  treat- 
ment should  therefore  be  made  to  depend  upon  assignment 
of  its  particular  cause,  and  that  no  one  but  a  physician  is  com- 
petent to  assign.  The  use  of  hot  water  baths  has,  however, 
a  beneficial  effect  in  its  treatment,  inasmuch  as  they  have  good 
influence  in  restoring  the  glands  to  their  suspended  functions. 

There  is  an  opposite  physical  condition  to  the  one  just 
described,  and  yet  for  which  the  same  treatment  is  applicable. 
This  is  known  medically  as  hyperdrosis,  or  excessive  perspira- 
tion. It,  too,  may  occur  only  on  certain  portions  of  the  body, 
or  it  may  involve  the  whole  surface.  It  is  a  disorder  very  apt 


THE   BATH.  IOO, 

to  attack  the  face,  hands,  and  feet.  Sometimes  abundant  per- 
spiration will  break  out  upon  one  side  of  the  face,  the  other  side 
remaining  perfectly  dry.  The  palms  of  the  hands  may  persist  in 
being  moist,  however  carefully  dried.  They  become  white  and 
wrinkled,  cold  and  clammy  to  the  touch.  The  hot  bath  and  the 
hot  douche  are  beneficial  when  the  nerves  of  the  skin  are  in  the 
unhealthy  condition  indicated  by  these  symptoms. 

Neuralgia  of  the  skin  may  occasion  mere  tenderness  or 
great  pain.  It  may  be  so  severe,  that  the  slightest  touch  of  the 
clothing  can  scarcely  be  borne.  Itching  of  the  skin  is  not  infre- 
quently so  constant  and  violent  as  to  produce  great  distress.  It 
may  be  caused  by  various  derangements  of  the  nervous  system, 
and  by  any  bad  habit  which  saps  vitality.  It  may  also  result  from 
rheumatism,  gout,  emotional  shock,  or  from  disease  of  any  of  the 
principal  organs  of  the  body,  and  is  common  in  extreme  old  age. 
It  is  unaccompanied  by  any  observable  alteration  in  the  skin 
except  that  produced  by  the  inevitable  scratching  for  relief.  All 
of  the  diseases  and  symptoms  named  may  be  relieved  or  cured 
by  the  application  of  water  at  various  temperatures  to  the  skin. 
A  number  of  cutaneous  affections  are  characterized  by  the 
formation  of  pustules  on  the  skin.  These  vary  consider- 
ably in  size,  and,  eventually  rupturing,  form  crusts.  Inflam- 
matory sensation  from  them  is  alleviated,  the  fall  of  the  crusts 
hastened,  and  healing  promoted  by  the  use  of  warm  baths.  In 
many  forms  of  tetter,  and  even  in  more  severe  forms  of  skin-dis- 
eases, the  same  treatment  is  beneficial. 

When  a  person  in  whose  case  a  Russian  bath  is  prescribed, 
is  unable  to  leave  home  to  go  to  a  public  bath-house,  a  domestic 
substitute  for  its  application  can  easily  be  extemporized.  Let 
the  patient  be  stripped  and  placed  upon  a  cane-seated  chair,  and 
covered  from  head  to  foot  with  blankets  from  the  neck  down- 
ward. A  spirit-lamp,  above  which  rests  a  can  of  water,  is  then 
to  be  lighted,  with  precaution,  under  the  chair;  whereupon, 
vapor  will  soon  be  generated  in  sufficient  quantities  for  the 
purpose  in  view.  Drinking  plentifully  of  water  at  the  same  time 


110  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

assists  the  flow  of  perspiration.  Time  may  be  saved  by  having 
the  water  first  heated  near  to  the  boiling  point.  In  a  few  minutes 
copious  perspiration  is  induced.  When  this  has  lasted  for  a  few 
minutes,  the  blankets  are  removed,  and  then  the  patient  may  enter 
a  tepid  bath,  or  he  may  be  tucked  in  bed  under  blankets  and  con- 
tinue the  perspiring  process.  This  mode  of  curing  a  cold,  except 
the  item  in  it  of  the  vapor,  is  called  in  Maine,  taking  a  "rum 
sweat."  It  retains  the  name  of  "rum"  because  New  England, 
in  what  are  called  in  America  "old  times,"  knew  scarcely  any 
other  spirituous  liquor.  Even  now,  when,  in  New  England  it  is 
intended  to  stigmatize  a  man  for  too  much  drinking,  he  is  said 
to  take  too  much  rum,  although  his  beverage  may  be  in  fact,  and 
is  most  likely  to  be,  whiskey.  But  to  return  to  the  question  of 
the  treatment.  The  writer  once  saw  a  man  in  Maine  with  so  bad 
a  cold  that  he  spoke'  in  a  whisper,  and  yet  was  perfectly  well 
the  next  day  after  having  taken  a  "rum  sweat." 

A  vapor  bath  can  be  given  a  bedridden  person  by  wrapping 
two  or  three  hot  bricks  in  moistened  flannel  and  placing  them 
under  the  bed-clothes;  by  which  means  an  abundant  perspira- 
tion may  be  produced.  This  is  a  reliable  method  in  the  treatment 
of  many  diseases.  It  needs,  however,  the  advice  of  a  physician 
to  render  it  safe. 

What  is  known  as  the  "cold  wet-pack"  is  an  excellent 
method  for  obtaining  the  therapeutic  benefit  of  water.  In  this, 
water  is  administered  by  protecting,  with  india-rubber  cloth,  the 
mattress  upon  which  the  patient  lies.  A  sheet  is  then  saturated 
with  cold  water,  wrung  out,  drawn  under  the  body  of  the  pa- 
tient, and  its  sides  folded  over  and  tucked  in  under  him.  The 
heat  emitted  by  the  body,  especially  in  fevers,  soon  converts  the 
water  into  vapor,  and  copious  perspiration  ensues.  When 
patients  are  weak  and  nervous  and  shrink  from  the  shock  of  a 
cold  general  bath,  the  cold  wet-pack  is  a  very  valuable  substitute 
for  it.  It  causes  at  first  less  chill  than  the  other,  and  the  heat 
of  the  body  soon  warms  the  sheet. 

Water  is  sometimes  usefully  applied  by  means  of  the  douche, 


THE    BATH.  Ill 

or  constant  stream  poured  upon  a  certain  portion  of  the  body. 
The  force  with  which  the  liquid  strikes  the  surface  can  easily 
be  regulated.  The  douche  stimulates  the  action  of  the  skin  and 
has  a  beneficial  influence  upon  deeper  parts.  It  should  never  be 
applied  very  long  at  a  time,  especially  in  the  case  of  persons  of 
nervous  temperament.  It  may  be  used  with  advantage  in  cases 
of  sunstroke,  fevers,  headache,  neuralgia,  and  chronic  rheu- 
matism, and  has  a  decided  influence  in  allaying  and  removing 
itching.  Cold  baths  are  valuable  in  the  treatment  of  fevers, 
inflammatory  affections,  rickets,  sunstroke,  etc. 

In  the  summer  diarrhoea  of  children,  so  often  fatal  to 
infants  in  large  cities,  the  lining  membrane  of  the  bowels  is  in 
a  condition  of  irritation  or  of  positive  inflammation.  The  skin 
is  hot  and  dry  from  fever.  The  little  sufferers  turn  from  food 
with  disgust,  or  else  throw  it  up  soon  after  it  is  eaten.  The 
application  of  cold  water  to  them  under  these  threatened  condi- 
tions has  been  found  useful.  The  illness  is  directly  or  indirectly 
caused  by  heat.  The  interior  of  the  body  is  suffering  from  a 
surplus  of  heat,  by  reason  of  the  active  changes  that  accompany 
inflammation  of  the  bowels.  Abstraction  of  heat  from  it  is  there- 
fore urgently  demanded  in  the  crisis.  This  object  is  accomplished 
by  placing  the  children  so  attacked  in  a  moderately  cold  bath, 
or  by  applying  repeatedly  to  the  abdomen  (the  belly)  a  fold 
of  linen  cloth  wrung  out  in  cold  water.  The  warm  bath  relieves 
pain  and  spasms. 

Before  dismissing  the  subject  of  bathing,  it  may  be  interest- 
ing for  the  general  reader  to  be  told  something  authentically 
about  the  "Kneipp  Cure,"  which  originated  in  Germany  and 
spread  to  some  extent  thence  to  other  countries.  It  was  intro- 
duced by  a  German  parish  priest,  named  Kneipp,  whose  prin- 
cipal agencies  recommended  for  the  cure  of  disease  are  cold 
water  douches,  foot-baths,  head-baths,  and  sitting-baths.  When 
cold  water  is  given  by  him  in  the  form  of  drink,  it  is  often  an 
infusion,  or  a  decoction  of  alcoholic  tinctures.  He  insists  that 
the  body  shall  be  trained  by  exposure  to  air,  whether  or  not  asso- 


112  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

ciated  with  ice-cold  water.  Children,  he  thinks,  should  go  with- 
out shoes  or  stockings.  Adults,  he  thinks,  should,  even  in 
winter's  snow,  walk  barefooted.  The  snow  required,  however, 
as  he  specifies,  should  be  freshly  fallen,  sifting,  fine  as  dust,  and 
there  should  be  a  piercing  wind  blowing.  The  time  of  a  walk 
in  the  snow  should  be,  according  to  him,  not  over  three  or  four 
minutes.  A  walk  in  running  water  is  supposed  by  him  to  have 
a  decidedly  tonic  effect  on  the  system.  Father  Kneipp  pre- 
scribes a  certain  dietetic  regimen  in  connection  with  his  cold 
water  recommendations. 

The  virtues  of  an  open-air  life,  activity,  exposure  in  pro- 
portion to  robustness,  frequent  contact  with  the  tonic  influence 
of  cold  water  are  incontestable.  It  needs  no  physician  to  con- 
vince people  of  these  facts.  The  experience  of  countless  genera- 
tions has  borne  witness  to  their  truth.  Such  practices,  how- 
ever, cannot  be  indiscriminately  used,  nor  used  by  anybody  with- 
out precaution.  The  best  chance  for  their  success  is  found  in 
robustness  of  constitution,  and  in  their  having  been  practiced 
early  in  life.  No  doubt  the  body,  but  not  everyone's  body,  can 
be  habituated  to  a  certain  amount  of  exposure,  that  is,  it  can 
be  by  exposure  what  is  popularly  called  "hardened."  But  safety 
and  benefit  in  the  process  depend  upon  the  condition  of  the  per- 
son and  the  degree  of  exposure  as  related  to  that  condition.  To 
take  any  person  at  random,  say,  a  person  in  any  way  feeble 
or  temporarily  enfeebled,  and  submit  him  to  such  stress  as  that 
recommended  by  Father  Kneipp,  would  certainly  not  harden,  and 
might  prove  fatal  to  him.  If  he  should  walk  barefoot  through 
the  snow  in  a  piercing  wind,  he  would  be  likely  to  acquire  bron- 
chitis, pneumonia,  pleurisy,  rheumatism,  or  some  other  severe 
ailment.  Enthusiastic,  non-professional  men  may  do  good  by 
calling  attention  to  the  virtues  of  cold  water,  by  banishing  the 
apparent  dread  of  bathing  which  actuates  many  people.  It 
should,  however,  be  known  by  them  that  cold  water  is  therapeu- 
tically  a  double-edged  sword.  It  cuts  both  ways.  It  is  potent 
for  evil  as  well  as  for  good.  Alas !  fads  are  endless !  we  have 


THE    BATH.  113 

ignoramuses  that  would  teach  us  how  to  save  our  bodies,  and 
others,  how  to  save  our  souls!  In  this  country,  the  adoption  of 
Father  Kneipp's  method  has  not  seemed  to  proceed  further  than 
to  induce  some  people  to  get  up  at  daylight  and  walk  barefoot 
through  the  morning  dew.  There  are  no  known  bounds  to 
human  credulity.  It  may  never  occur  to  such  persons  to  think 
that  it  may  not  have  been  the  dew  or  the  barefootedness  that 
may  have  done  them  good,  but  the  rising  from  over-indulgence 
in  sleep,  the  fresh  air,  the  exercise,  that  gave  them  their  appe- 
tite for  and  digestion  of  the  following  breakfast. 


CHAPTER    X. 
DIGESTION  AND  INDIGESTION. 

THE  process  and  order  of  nature  in  digestion  is  this.     The 
blood  is  made  and  renovated  by  the  food  we  consume  and 
the  air  we  breathe.    The  blood,  in  turn,  nourishes  the  body. 
It  remains  to  consider  how  the  various  solid  and  liquid  sub- 
stances which  we  use  as  food  are  converted  into  blood.     To 
account  for  this  without  going  into  difficult  questions  of  chemis- 
try is  the  object  of  the  present  chapter. 

When  the  science  of  chemistry  had  sufficiently  advanced 
to  enable  experimenters  to  make  analyses  of  organic  bodies, 
it  was  found  that  animal  and  vegetable  substances  are  similar. 
It  was  also  found  that  vegetables  have  the  wonderful  property 
of  transforming  inorganic  matter,  derived  from  the  soil,  into 
organic  matter;  that  is,  matter  having  the  attribute  of  life. 
Directly  from  the  vegetable  world,  and  indirectly  from  the 
lower  animal  world,  we  feed  upon  vegetables — directly  upon 
vegetables  as  such,  and  indirectly  upon  them  through  our  con- 
sumption of  the  meat  of  animals  which  have  been  nourished  on 
them.  Articles  of  food  consist  of  the  organic  and  the  inorganic. 
The  organic  part  of  it  is  formed  of  albumen,  starch,  sugar,  fat. 
The  inorganic  is  formed  of  mineral  salts.  Besides,  we  consume 
vegetable  acids,  present  in  fruits,  and  in  a  substance  called  pec- 
tine,  a  jelly  yielded  by  fruits  and  some  other  vegetable  products. 
Water,  too,  is  indispensable  to  the  processes  of  life,  and  must, 
therefore,  be  reckoned  a  true  food.  The  air,  too,  as  effecting 
through  its  oxygen  a  change  in  the  blood,  is  regarded  as  a  food. 
Albumen  has  been  called  the  physical  basis  of  life.  It  is  an 
exceedingly  complex  substance,  the  highest  product  of  organic 
action,  and  is  present  in  all  the  cells,  tissues,  and  secretions  of 
the  body.  Produced  from  so  many  sources  as  it  is,  it  should 
not  be  deemed  strange  that  it  varies  exceedingly  in  composition. 
114 


DIGESTION    AND   INDIGESTION.  115 

Thus  the  albumen  of  the  white  of  the  egg,  which  is  regarded  as 
the  typical  form  of  albumen,  is  not  the  same  as  that  of  the  yelk 
of  the  egg,  and  both  differ  from  the  kind  of  albumen  found 
in  butcher's  meat.  Flesh  contains  several,  distinct  forms  of  albu- 
men. The  albumen  of  milk  is  not  identical  with  that  from  vege- 
tables, and  the  albumen  from  the  milk  of  different  cows  varies  in 
composition.  Finally,  not  only  does  the  albumen  of  the  blood 
differ  from  the  kinds  already  mentioned,  but  no  less  than  six- 
teen kinds  have  been  demonstrated  as  present  in  the  human  body. 
Notwithstanding  these  facts,  however,  the  differences  among  the 
various  kinds  of  albumen  are  comparatively  slight,  and  relate 
chiefly  to  the  greater  or  less  solubility  of  different  specimens 
of  albumen  and  the  various  temperatures  at  which  they  coagu- 
late under  the  application  of  heat.  The  white  of  the  egg  is 
taken  as  the  type  of  albumen  because  it  is  so  well  known  as  the 
food  of  the  developing  chick. 

Albumen  in  its  usual  form  is  insoluble  in  water,  and  coagu- 
lates upon  being  heated.  Every  cook  sees  this  when  she  boils 
an  egg,  or  empties  a  raw  one  into  the  frying-pan  or  hot  water. 
Our  nutritive  supply  of  albumen  is  chiefly  obtained  from  the 
meat  and  eggs  which  we  eat,  although  a  notable  portion  comes 
from  vegetable  articles  of  diet.  Certain  vegetables  are  much 
richer  in  it  than  are  others,  among  which  may  be  especially 
mentioned  peas  and  beans.  But  it  is  for  other  food-principles 
that  we  depend  upon  vegetables;  chemically,  albumen  consists 
of  carbon,  oxygen,  hydrogen,  nitrogen,  sulphur,  and  phosphorus, 
combined  in  some  cases  with  a  trace  of  iron.  Its  constitution 
is  here  pointed  out  to  the  reader  with  the  object  of  indicating 
a  fundamental  difference  between  it  and  other  alimentary  prin- 
ciples. Fat,  starch,  and  sugar  are  destitute  of  nitrogen.  Or- 
ganic foods  are  therefore  divided  into  nitrogenous,  embracing 
the  various  kinds  of  albuminous  substances,  and  the  non-nitro- 
genous, which  include  the  fats,  starches,  and  sugars. 

Fats  and  oils  agree  in  chemical  composition,  and  differ 
only  in  the  condition  of  solidity  or  fluidity,  which  is  sometimes 


Il6  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

owing  only  to  temperature.  Like  albumen,  fat  is  Derived  from 
many  sources,  both  animal  and  vegetable.  In  addition  to  the 
fat  of  meat  that  overlies  the  muscular  fibers,  a  large  amount  is 
intimately  mixed  with  the  muscular  tissue,  and  not  recogniz- 
able by  the  unassisted  eye.  A  good  deal  of  fat  is  contained  in 
eggs.  The  white  of  eggs  consists  almost  exclusively  of  albumen 
and  water.  On  the  other  hand,  nearly  all  the  fat  of  the  egg  is 
stored  in  the  yelk,  which  contains  much  less  nitrogenous  matter 
and  water  than  does  the  white.  The  fatty  portion  of  milk,  that 
is,  cream,  is  extracted  from  it  in  forming  butter.  Cheese  contains 
much  fat,  though  it  is  chiefly  composed  of  albumen.  Some  kinds 
of  fish,  especially  salmon,  mackerel,  and  eels,  are  rich  in  fat. 
To  some  degree,  fat  is  present  in  all  the  vegetables  that  come 
to  table.  Nuts  and  olives  contain  a  good  deal  of  fatty  matter. 

Almost  everyone  is  familiar  with  the  appearance  and  with 
some  of  the  properties  of  starch.  It  is  obtainable  exclusively 
from  the  vegetable  kingdom.  It  consists  of  small  oval  or  round- 
ish particles  in  seeds,  roots,  stems,  and  in  some  fruits.  The  par- 
ticles or  granules  form  layer  upon  layer  arranged  around  a  cpm- 
mon  center,  the  outermost  layer  being  of  the  hardest  consistency 
of  all.  The  granules  are  not  sensibly  affected  by  cold  water ;  but 
boiling  water  causes  them  to  swell  up,  burst,  and  form  the  well- 
known  mucilaginous  mixture  used  for  laundry  and  other  pur- 
poses. Among  the  foods  in  which  starch  is  particularly  abun- 
dant are  wheat,  rye,  barley,  oats,  Indian-corn,  buckwheat,  and 
rice.  Starch  forms  about  half  in  the  composition  of  peas  and 
beans.  White  potatoes  contain  about  a  fifth  of  starch,  sweet 
potatoes,  somewhat  less.  Various  farinaceous  (floury)  prepar- 
ations are  commonly  used  for  food,  sago,  tapioca,  arrow-root, 
corn-starch,  etc. 

Two  types  of  sugar  are  recognized.  These  are  known  as 
cane-sugar  and  grape-sugar.  Their  names  point  to  their  origin. 
The  beet  contains  about  one-tenth  of  its  weight  in  sugar;  and, 
upon  the  continent  of  Europe,  the  manufacture  of  beet-sugar  is 
prosecuted  on  a  large  scale.  Grape-sugar,  or  glucose,  commu- 


DIGESTION    AND    INDIGESTION.  1 17 

nicates  sweetness  to  grapes  and  other  fruits.  It  is,  however, 
five  times  less  sweet  than  cane-sugar.  Besides  using  sugar  in 
the  common  commercial  forms, — white,  brown,  lump,  powdered, 
granulated, — we  eat  it  in  the  form  of  candies,  syrup,  molasses, 
sorghum,  maple-sugar,  honey;  it  is  even  found  in  muscular 
fiber. 

The  alimentary  principles  just  noticed  form  the  chief  part  of 
our  diet.  Other  substances  belonging  to  it  are  of  minor  value 
as  nourishment,  although  they  cannot  be  entirely  dispensed  with 
in  our  physical  economy.  For  instance,  the  vegetable  acids  pres- 
ent in  fruits,  although  not  particularly  nutritious,  are  of  ser- 
vice in  preserving  health.  This  is  shown  in  one  way  by  their 
influence  in  averting  scurvy,  a  disease  which  is  seldom  seen  at 
the  present  day,  but  which  in  former  times  committed  great 
ravages  amongst  soldiers  and  sailors.  Since  the  cause  of  scurvy 
has  been  ascertained,  no  ship  puts  to  sea  on  a  long  voyage  with- 
out ample  supply  of  lime-juice.  In  Dr.  Kane's  expedition 
towards  the  north  pole,  the  supply  of  potatoes  came  down  to 
a  single  one;  scraped  off  little  by  little,  it  was  doled  out  and 
finished,  in  the  interest  of  staving  off  scurvy.  By  the  simple 
addition  of  lime-juice  to  the  stores  for  Arctic  and  other  long 
voyages,  scurvy  has  almost  disappeared  from  the  earth. 

Water  is  an  indispensable  constituent  of  our  food,  facilitat- 
ing, as  it  does,  the  solution  of  the  food  in  the  process  of  its 
absorption  as  blood.  Blood  is  a  watery  liquid  which  holds  nitro- 
genous, fatty,  starchy,  saccharine,  and  other  substances  in  solu- 
tion. The  first  process  of  digestion  is  the  reduction  of  these 
various  substances  to  liquid  form.  In  so  far  as  this  is  not  at- 
tained, the  act  of  digestion  is  imperfectly  performed,  and  symp- 
toms appear  indicative  of  its  embarrassment.  So  long  as  articles 
of  food  taken  into  the  stomach  remain  undissolved,  so  long  they 
cannot  traverse  the  walls  of  the  stomach  and  bowels,  to  be  ab- 
sorbed by  the  blood.  With  the  exception  of  sugar,  all  the  nutri- 
tious principles  of  food  which  have  been  named  are  insoluble  in 
water.  It  follows,  that  they  must  be  so  changed  by  the  process 


Il8  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

of  digestion  that  they  will  dissolve  in  water.  To  be  digested, 
the  substances,  insoluble  in  water  as  we  imbibe  them,  are,  or 
ought  to  be,  rendered  soluble  in  the  stomach,  in  order  that  they 
may  be  taken  up  by  the  blood,  then  seized  by  the  various  tissues 
of  the  body,  and  then  deposited  in  the  insoluble  form  of  their 
structure. 

The  manner  in  which  this  is  accomplished  will  now  be 
stated  as  clearly  as  possible.  Digestion  of  food  is  begun  in 
the  mouth  with  saliva,  continues  in  the  stomach,  and  is  com- 
pleted in  the  small  bowels.  The  preliminary  for  good  diges- 
tion is  proper  mastication  of  meat.  It  has  been  alleged  that 
Mr.  Gladstone  said  he  gave  thirty-two  chews  to  every  morsel  of 
meat.  If  true,  it  would  go  to  show  either  that  he  was  unneces- 
sarily particular,  that  his  dental  apparatus  was  not  in  good  order, 
or  that  the  meat  of  England  is  particularly  tough.  Anyhow,  true 
or  not,  Americans  can  get  along  with  less  than  thirty-two  chews, 
and  like  to  have  time  to  talk  instead  of  counting  in  the  inter- 
vals of  eating  dinner.  But,  to  return  more  particularly  to  our 
subject,  every  one  knows  that  when  we  wish  to  make  any  sub- 
stance readily  dissolve  in  water,  we  reduce  it  to  powder,  if  pos- 
sible. One  of  the  first  things  that  an  apothecary's  boy  learns 
is  to  pulverize  substances  before  making  them  into  fluid  prepara- 
tions. Now,  the  teeth  are  the  instruments  with  which  nature 
furnishes  us  to  convert  our  food  into  a  more  finely  divided  state 
than  that  in  which  it  is  taken  into  the  mouth.  Since  the  nerves 
of  taste  are  distributed  to  the  tongue,  one  should  suppose  that 
prolonged  contact  with  all  the  nerves  of  taste  would  be  so  pleas- 
urable that  mastication  of  food  would  be  thoroughly  performed. 
This  is,  however,  by  no  means  general.  Food  is  often  hurriedly, 
and  therefore  insufficiently,  divided  and  hastily  delivered  into  the 
stomach  in  a  condition  unfit  for  the  action  of  its  gastric  juices. 

This  is  a  frequent  cause  of  dyspepsia.  The  habit  of  rapid 
eating,  sometimes  of  bolting  food,  may  be  the  first  link  in  a 
chain  leading  to  discomfort,  misery,  and  death.  There  is  no  ex- 
cuse for  such  a  habit  of  eating.  The  dinner-time  should  be  a 


DIGESTION    AND   INDIGESTION.  1 19 

sacred  hour  for  slow  eating,  interspersed  with  pleasant  talk. 
There  are  people  who  gorge  like  wild  animals,  breathing  not  a 
word  during  the  time  of  feeding.  Nothing  better  characterizes 
the  difference  between  refinement  and  vulgarity  than  modes  of 
eating.  In  one,  the  process  of  eating  is  made  to  seem  secondary 
to  social  intercourse;  in  the  other,  it  has  no  such  seeming,  but 
the  mere  animal  creature  is  revealed  as  a  quite  unsocial  being. 
Lads  often  begin  the  unhealthy  practice  of  bolting  their  food  by 
lingering  too  long  in  bed  and  then  trying  to  make  up  for  lost 
time.  Merchants  sometimes  sacrifice  their  luncheon-hour  to 
business.  In  respect  to  this  matter,  laborers  have  an  advantage 
over  the  commercial  classes.  When  bell  or  whistle  announces 
midday,  all  work  is  dropped  for  an  hour ;  ample  time  for  eating 
and  a  little  rest. 

While  food  is  being  divided  by  the  teeth,  it  has  time  to  mix 
with  the  digestive  fluid,  saliva.  This  fluid  serves  several  pur- 
poses. It  aids  the  sense  of  taste  by  dissolving  some  of  the  con- 
stituents of  the  food,  it  moistens  the  food  so  that  it  is  more 
easily  swallowed.  It  performs,  however,  a  still  more  important 
part  in  the  act  of  digestion.  It  begins  the  chemical  transforma- 
tion of  insoluble  starch  into  soluble  sugar.  It  contains  a  ferment 
by  which  this  change  is  begun  and  partially  effected  while  the 
food  is  within  the  mouth. 

In  the  act  of  swallowing,  food  first  passes  from  the  mouth 
into  the  pharynx,  which  is  a  pouch  suspended  from  the  base  of 
the  skull,  attached  behind  to  the  front  surface  of  the  spinal 
column,  and  communicating  in  front  with  the  nasal  cavities  and 
the  mouth.  The  pharynx  also  communicates,  through  the 
Eustachian  tubes,  with  the  interior  middle  part  of  the  organ  of 
hearing.  It  is  surrounded  by  three  constrictor  muscles,  which 
contract  and  press  forward  the  food  into  the  oesophagus,  or 
gullet.  The  lower  part  of  the  pharynx  is  narrowed  and  continu- 
ous with  the  oesophagus,  which  is  nine  inches  long  in  the  adult, 
leading  directly  into  the  stomach.  The  rings  of  muscular  mat- 
ter that  surround  the  oesophagus  are  not  under  control  of  the 


I2O  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

will,  but  are  excited  to  action  when  food  enters  this  tube  of  the 
oesophagus.  Every  one  must  have  had  the  experience,  at  some 
time  or  other,  of  trying  to  prevent  swallowing  a  morsel  when 
the  opening  of  the  oesophagus  clutched  and  swallowed  it  auto- 
matically. 

It  is  usual  to  speak  loosely  of  digestion  as  if  carried  on 
entirely  by  the  stomach.  But,  in  reality,  it  is  only  a  portion  of 
the  food  imbibed  which  is  acted  upon  in  that  organ.  The  stom- 
ach is  a  large  pouch  situated  at  the  beginning  of  the  intestinal 
tube.  The  soft  membrane  with  which  it  is  lined  secretes  the 
peculiar  fluid  called  the  gastric  juice.  This  is  an  acid  liquor 
and  is  composed  of  an  organic  ferment  called  pepsin,  together 
with  some  free  hydrochloric  acid  and  some  inorganic  salts 
dissolved  in  water.  In  the  interval  between  two  digestions,  the 
gastric  juice  is  retained  within  the  tubes  by  which  it  is  secreted, 
and  is  discharged  into  the  stomach  only  when  its  presence  is 
needed  for  action  upon  food. 

During  the  supply  of  food  to  the  stomach,  the  saliva  con- 
tinues its  conversion  of  starch  into  sugar.  As,  however,  the 
saliva,  which  it  has  partially  absorbed,  is  an  alkaline  fluid,  it 
becomes  neutralized  in  coming  in  contact  with  the  acid  gastric 
juice  of  the  stomach.  The  digestion  of  starch  by  the  stomach  is 
therefore  suspended  as  long  as  food  remains  in  that  organ. 
While  there,  food  is  subjected  to  a  sort  of  churning  process, 
whereby  it  is  liquefied  and  intimately  blended  with  the  gastric 
juice.  The  walls  of  the  stomach  are  muscular,  and  in  their  con- 
tractions the  organ  is  swayed  to  and  fro,  from  side  to  side.  At 
the  same  time,  the  food  within  it  shifts  about  in  this  churning 
process.  These  movements  continue  as  long  as  there  is  any  food 
remaining  in  the  stomach. 

The  special  office  of  the  stomach  is  to  produce  in  the  albu- 
minous constituents  of  our  food  a  change  of  such  a  nature  that 
they  become  soluble  and  thus  capable  of  being  absorbed  by  the 
blood.  This  is  the  reason  for  the  prolonged  retention  of  food 
in  the  stomach.  The  lower  part  of  the  stomach  is  guarded  by 


DIGESTION    AND    INDIGESTION.       .  121 

a  thickening  of  the  muscular  fibers  to  so  great  a  degree  as  to 
form  a  closed  ring.  This  ring  is  so  constituted  as  to  bar  the 
passage  of  food  from  further  descent  until  it  shall  have  become 
sufficiently  liquefied.  It  is  the  albumen  which,  the  most  com- 
plex and  the  most  necessary  element  of  our  diet,  presents  the 
greatest  difficulty  to  the  digestive  function.  Starch,  as  has 
been  already  said,  is  readily  and  rapidly  converted  into  soluble 
sugar.  Fat  does  not  need  to  be  chemically  changed.  The  man- 
ner in  which  it  is  acted  upon  will  be  presently  described. 

As  pepsin,  like  yeast,  is  a  ferment,  a  very  small  amount 
of  it  is  capable  of  acting  upon  and  transforming  a  large  quantity 
of  albumen.  It  has  been  found,  however,  that  beyond  a  cer- 
tain quantity,  the  presence  of  the  converted  albumen  prevents 
further  action  of  the  pepsin.  From  this,  it  was  learned  why  it 
is  that,  if  we  eat  too  great  a  quantity  of  animal  food,  we  are 
visited  with  an  attack  of  indigestion.  As  the  albumen  is  gradu- 
ally rendered  soluble,  the  muscular  ring  at  the  bottom  of  the 
stomach  relaxes  from  time  to  time  and  allows  a  certain  quantity 
of  liquefied  food  to  pass  into  the  bowel.  This  relaxation  at 
intervals  may  be  compared  to  the  occasional  opening  of  a  sluice- 
gate. As  the  chemical  changes  approach  completion,  the  mate- 
rial is  allowed  to  escape  with  increased  rapidity. 

The  time  required  for  the  digestion  of  albuminous  sub- 
stances and  their  passage  into  the  bowel  differs  according  to 
various  circumstances.  Digestion  goes  on  more  or  less  rapidly 
according  to  the  kind  of  food  eaten,  the  quantity,  the  interval 
which  has  elapsed  since  the  last  meal,  the  general  condition  of 
health,  and  even  the  state  of  the  weather.  As  an  average  in 
time,  however,  it  may  be  stated  that  from  three  to  four  and  a 
half  hours  after  being  taken,  an  ordinary  meal  has  left  the  stom- 
ach, owing  to  the  fact  that  it  has  been  digested. 

Opportunity  to  examine  the  interior  of  the  stomach  has 
occasionally  been  afforded  by  persons  having,  in  consequence 
of  a  wound,  an  opening  from  the  outside  into  that  organ.  Many 
years  ago,  Dr.  Beaumont,  an  army  surgeon,  was  able  closely  to 


122  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

study  the  case  of  a  person  so  afflicted.  He  found,  to  use  his  own 
language,  that  "in  disease  or  partial  derangement  of  healthy 
function,  the  mucous  membrane  presents  various  and  essentially 
different  appearances.  In  febrile  conditions  of  the  system,  oc- 
casioned by  whatever  cause, — obstructed  perspiration,  undue  ex- 
citement by  stimulating  liquors,  overloading  the  stomach  with 
food,  fear,  anger,  or  whatever  depresses  or  disturbs  the  nervous 
system, — the  villous  coat  becomes  sometimes  red  and  dry,  at  other 
times  pale  and  moist,  and  loses  its  healthy  appearance ;  the  secre- 
tion becomes  vitiated,  greatly  diminished,  or  even  suppressed; 
the  coat  of  mucus  scarcely  perceptible,  the  follicles  flat  and 
flaccid,  with  secretions  insufficient  to  protect  the  papillae  from 
irritation.  There  are  sometimes  found,  on  the  internal  coat  of 
the  stomach,  eruptions  of  deep  red  pimples,  not  numerous,  but 
distributed  here  and  there  upon  the  villous  membrane,  rising 
above  the  surface  of  the  mucous  coat.  These  are  at  first  sharp- 
pointed  and  red,  but  frequently  become  filled  with  white  puru- 
lent matter.  At  other  times,  irregular,  circumscribed  red 
patches,  varying  in  size  and  extent  from  half  an  inch  to  an 
inch  and  a  half  in  circumference,  are  found  on  the  internal 
coat.  These  diseased  appearances,  when  very  slight,  do  not 
always  essentially  affect  the  gastric  apparatus.  When  consider- 
able, and  particularly  when  there  are  corresponding  symptoms 
of  disease, — as  dryness  of  the  mouth,  thirst,  accelerated  pulse, 
etc. — no  gastric  juice  can  be  extracted  by  the  alimentary  stimu- 
lus." 

What  is  meant  by  "the  alimentary  stimulus"  is  the  food 
taken  into  the  stomach,  which  ought,  in  its  healthy  condition, 
to  excite  a  flow  of  the  gastric  juice.  For  the  benefit  of  the  non- 
professional  reader  it  is  well  also  to  explain  what  is  meant  by 
Dr.  Beaumont,  in  the  preceding  description,  by  the  words,  the 
villous  coat  and  the  follicles  of  the  interior  of  the  stomach.  The 
villous  coat  is  the  mucous  membrane  lining  the  stomach,  called 
villous  because  it  is  in  folds;  and  the  follicles  are  the  minute 
glands  of  the  interior  of  the  stomach,  set  like  little  tubes  in  its 
mucous  membrane. 


DIGESTION    AND    INDIGESTION.  123 

Gastric  juice  begins  to  pour  into  the  stomach  as  soon  as 
food  is  taken  into  the  mouth.  Its  secretion  is  stimulated  by 
condiments,  such  as  pepper,  Worcestershire  sauce,  etc.  Although 
these  excite  the  appetite  and  increase  digestive  power,  they 
should  not  be  used  so  freely  as  to  make  the  stomach  depend  upon 
them ;  for  their  too  lavish  use  might  even  bring  about  digestive 
disturbances.  In  a  word,  they  are  capable  of  overstimulating 
the  organs  concerned  in  the  complicated  process  of  digestion. 
The  condition  of  the  nervous  system  has  much  to  do  with  regu- 
lating the  secretion  of  the  gastric  juice.  Strong  emotion  will 
at  once  check  its  flow.  That  is  the  chief  reason  why  the  pro- 
cess of  dining  should  be  associated  with  pleasant  surroundings 
of  scene,  companionship,  and  conversation.  It  is  one  of  the 
reasons  why  a  meal,  as  a  feature  of  a  picnic,  is  so  enjoyable,  for 
pleasurable  emotions  increase  the  flow  of  the  gastric  juice  and 
digestion  proceeds  agreeably. 

After  food  has  been  taken,  the  flow  of  blood,  through  a 
strong  nervous  influence,  is  directed  towards  the  digestive 
organs,  and  the  process  of  digestion  is  embarrassed  if  mental 
or  physical  work  be  immediately  resumed.  The  reason  justifies 
the  selection,  wherever  possible,  of  the  hour  for  the  chief  meal 
of  the  day  after  the  main  business  of  the  day  shall  have  been 
accomplished.  Agitating  or  depressing  topics  of  thought  or  of 
conversation  should  be  scrupulously  avoided  at  table.  Cheerful 
demeanor  and  conversation,  on  the  other  hand,  facilitate  diges- 
tion, and  with  it,  promote  contentment  and  comfort.  To  have 
a  good  appetite,  to  eat  with  temperance  and  gratification,  to  di- 
gest perfectly,  involve  boons  for  which  we  should  be  truly  thank- 
ful. In  so  far  as  circumstances  will  permit,  we  should  avoid 
everything  liable  to  disturb  this  healthful  activity.  The  best 
of  all  rules  to  ensure  temperance  in  eating  is  to  eat  slowly;  the 
best  of  all  to  ensure  good  digestion,  is  to  rise  from  the  table, 
not  hungry,  but  feeling  as  if  we  could  eat  a  little  more  with 
pleasure. 

When  food  leaves  the  stomach  and  enters  the  small  intes- 


124  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

tine,  it  comes  almost  immediately  into  contact  with  two  import- 
ant fluids.  These  are  furnished  respectively  by  the  liver  and  the 
pancreas.  They  are  poured  into  the  intestine  about  three  and  a 
half  inches  beyond  the  opening  in  the  stomach  from  which  the 
food  has  departed.  Both  bile  (from  the  liver)  and  pancreatic 
fluid  (from  the  pancreas,  known,  when  from  the  calf,  as  sweet- 
bread), differ  from  the  acid  gastric  juice,  in  being  alkaline.  Bile 
is  elaborated  within  the  liver,  and  serves  the  purpose  of  remov- 
ing waste  elements  from  the  body,  and  yet  it  is  used  in  the 
digestive  process.  Its  action  in  this  respect  is  not  as  decided, 
however,  as  that  of  the  gastric  or  the  pancreatic  fluid.  Bile  has 
some  influence  in  converting  starch  into  sugar,  but  has  none  on 
albuminous  substances.  It  breaks  up  oil-globules  so  that  they 
readily  pass  through  the  walls  of  the  bowel.  It  has  other  func- 
tions, among  which  is  the  one  that  it  stimulates  the  secretion 
of  the  intestinal  juice,  another  fluid  concerned  in  the  work  of 
digestion. 

The  fluid  which  the  pancreas  secretes  has  the  most  uni- 
versal influence  upon  the  ingredients  of  our  food.  It  contains 
three  different  kinds  of  ferments  which  act  upon  three  different 
kinds  of  alimentary  principles.  Any  albumen  which  may  have 
escaped  conversion  in  the  stomach  is  transformed  into  soluble 
substance  by  the  pancreatic  fluid.  The  chemical  changes  which 
were  arrested  in  starch  by  the  acid  gastric  juice  are  resumed 
in  the  bowel  under  the  influence  of  the  pancreatic  fluid ;  and  the 
starch,  insoluble  in  the  gastric  juice,  is  completely  changed  into 
soluble  sugar.  But  it  is  as  the  agent  by  which  fat  is  principally 
digested  that  the  pancreatic  fluid  is  most  important  as  an  agency. 
In  sugar  and  albumen,  it  but  assists  and  completes  the  action 
begun  by  the  saliva  and  gastric  juice.  The  glands  situated  in 
the  walls  of  the  small  intestine  also  secrete  a  fluid  which  plays  a 
subsidiary  part  in  the  process  of  digestion. 

It  is  not  enough  for  health  that  food  be  digested.  We  can 
imitate  this  function  of  digestion  by  chemical  procedure.  In- 
deed, the  artificial  or  partial  digestion  of  food  is  now  common, 


DIGESTION    AND    INDIGESTION.  125 

and  affords  an  extremely  useful  method  in  the  medical  treatment 
of  debilitating  diseases.  The  great  object  in  promoting  diges- 
tion is  to  present  food  to  the  stomach  in  such  a  condition  that 
it  shall  be  absorbed  by  the  blood.  Were  it  not  received  by  the 
blood,  it  would  be  of  no  more  use  to  us  than  if  it  had  remained 
on  the  table.  Digestion  is  the  first  step,  and  a  mighty  one,  in 
the  nourishment  of  the  body.  Its  products  in  solution  enter  the 
circulation  by  traversing  the  membranous  walls  of  the  bowel. 
Some  of  the  nutrient  principles  are  received  directly  into  the 
blood-current,  while  others  pursue  an  indirect  course  to  that  end 
by  passing,  first  of  all,  into  absorbent  vessels  of  the  system. 
The  absorbent  vessels,  coming  from  different  portions  of  the 
bowel,  are  finally  gathered  into  a  single  vessel,  along  which  the 
liquid  flows  until  it  is  finally  emptied  into  the  blood  at  a  distant 
point.  The  small  absorbents  have  passed  through  numerous 
glands,  where  they  are  acted  upon  in  such  a  manner  that  the 
composition  of  the  fluid  derived  from  the  alimentary  canal  grad- 
ually approximates  to  that  of  the  blood.  Most  of  our  fatty  food 
takes  this  described  indirect  route  to  the  blood.  Much  of  the 
albumen  and  sugar,  on  the  contrary,  passes  at  once  from  the 
bowel  into  the  blood-vessels.  The  difference  of  route  is,  how- 
ever, more  apparent  than  real;  for,  whereas,  the  fat  is  carried 
by  the  absorbing  vessels,  the  other  alimentary  principles  are 
conveyed  to  the  liver.  In  that  large  and  important  gland,  fur- 
ther changes  are  effected  in  albuminous  principles.  They  reach 
the  liver,  we  may  say,  in  the  form  of  comparatively  raw  mate- 
rial, which  must  be  refined  to  fit  it  to  become  a  component  of 
the  blood  and  the  various  tissues  of  the  body.  Secondary 
elaboration  of  substance  in  the  body  is  of  capital  importance. 
Chemical  changes  are  effected  which  result  in  the  production  of 
the  nutritious  matter  which  enters  the  blood;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  deleterious  matter  is  carried  to  the  kidneys,  and  by  them 
cast  out  of  the  svstem.  Both  liver  and  kidneys  have  waste- 
products  which  tend  to  be  eliminated,  and,  if  retained,  poison. 
It  entails  no  great  strain  on  the  system  to  eliminate  sub- 


126  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

stances  perfectly  dissolved,  but  constant  attempted  passage  of 
insoluble  substances  is  a  source  of  irritation.  When  the  liver 
is  habitually  out  of  order,  it  is  not  able  to  perform  its  function. 
The  supply  of  nutritive  substance  in  it  is  diminished,  and  the 
amount  of  insoluble  substance  is  increased.  The  waste  not 
eliminated  with  ease  affects  the  kidneys  as  it  passes  out,  re- 
mains in  the  general  circulation  for  a  long  time,  and  excites 
disease.  The  person  so  afflicted  becomes  irritable.  Appetite 
fails,  and  sleep  is  disturbed.  Insomnia  is  a  frequent  concomitant 
of  the  condition.  The  heart  beats  violently  and  irregularly,  at- 
tacks of  bronchitis  or  asthma  may  occur,  and  eruptions  appear 
upon  the  surface  of  the  body.  The  mind  is  sometimes  so  pro- 
foundly affected  as  to  become  hypochondriacal,  or  with  such 
perversion  as  to  become  suicidal.  The  kidneys  become  affected. 
Some  form  of  Bright's  disease  of  the  kidneys  may  ensue.  Gout 
may  occur  as  the  culmination  of  a  train  of  such  physical  ills, 
for  dyspeptic  troubles  are  among  the  best  known  precursors  of 
gout. 

Plato,  in  his  "Republic,"  points  out  the  relation  of  athletics 
and  temperance,  recommending  moderation  in  both.  The 
proper  way  of  training  men  to  be  defenders  of  their  country,  he 
states  in  the  following  terms:  "On  these  points  we  may  take 
a  lesson  even  from  Homer.  You  know  that,  at  the  repasts  of  his 
heroes,  when  they  are  in  the  field,  he  never  sets  fish  before  them, 
although  they  are  on  the  shore  of  the  Hellespont,  nor  yet  boiled 
meat,  but  only  roast,  which  soldiers  could,  of  course,  procure 
most  readily;  for  anywhere,  one  might  say,  there  is  less  diffi- 
culty in  using  mere  fire,  than  in  carrying  about  pots  and  pans. 

Neither  has  Homer,  if  I  remember  right,  ever  said  a 

word  about  sauces.  However,  this  is  well  known,  I  believe,  to 
all  that  are  in  training,  as  to  Homer,  that  a  man  who  desires  to 
be  in  good  condition  physically,  must  abstain  from  all  such  in- 
dulgences." Plato  conceives  that  the  properly  trained  man  will 
possess  good  digestion,  insusceptibility  to  take  cold,  freedom 
from  such  diseases  as  are  caused  by  irrational  living,  will  have,  in 


DIGESTION    AND   INDIGESTION. 

a  word,  good  health.  He  says:  "And  do  you  not  hold  it  dis- 
graceful to  require  medical  aid,  unless  it  be  for  a  wound,  or 
an  attack  of  illness  incidental  to  the  time  of  year — to  require  it, 
I  mean,  owing  to  our  laziness  and  the  life  we  lead,  and  to  get 
ourselves  so  stuffed  with  humors  and  wind,  like  quagmires,  as 
to  compel  the  clever  ones  of  ^Esculapius  to  call  diseases  by  such 
names  as  flatulence  and  catarrh." 

We  should  no  more  eat  to  satiety  than  we  should  drink  to 
excess.  Immoderate  indulgence  in  the  pleasures  of  the  table 
spoils  the  complexion,  bloats  the  face,  dulls  the  eye,  and  gives 
rise  to  many  diseases.  Every  one  should  observe  a  judicious 
caution  as  to  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  food  taken.  On 
the  other  hand,  a  person  should  not  be  continually  thinking  and 
talking  about  digestion.  The  habits  of  life  here  inculcated  lead 
to  good  digestion,  health,  and  prolongation  of  life.  Excepting 
regard  for  physical  idiosyncrasies,  which  everyone  ought  to  find 
out  from  personal  experience,  a  healthy  person  dines  with  vari- 
ety without  a  thought  of  his  or  her  stomach.  In  fact,  a  healthy 
person  is  so  well  as  to  be  almost  unconscious  of  having  a  stomach. 

Addiction  merely  to  what  are  called  the  pleasures  of  the 
table,  which  is,  in  fact,  gluttony,  and  immoderate  use  of  spirit- 
uous beverages  of  whatever  kind,  are  destructive  of  good  looks  in 
both  men  and  women.  But  intemperance  in  eating  and  drink- 
ing has  worse  consequences  than  even  these.  By  it,  sluggish- 
ness both  of  mind  and  body  is  produced,  besides  sensual  ex- 
pression of  face  and  loss  of  all  symmetry  of  body.  We  do  not 
read  nowadays  of  men  given  to  any  excess  who  are  distin- 
guished in  any  walk  of  life  for  intellect  or  deeds  of  note.  As 
has  also  been  here  mentioned,  there  is  a  close  connection  among 
the  attributes  of  virtue,  health,  and  beauty.  Transgression  of 
the  laws  of  nature,  or  of  the  highest  moral  code  of  a  community, 
brings  with  it  penalty.  The  time  was,  before  the  Christian 
era,  when  men  and  women  could  permit  themselves  a  license 
which  is  no  longer,  under  another  dispensation,  recognized  by 
others  or  by  themselves  as  tolerable.  So  low  anciently  was  the 


128  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

status  of  morality,  that,  in  sexual  relations,  they  were  so  loose 
as  to  indulge  in  orgies,  without  shame,  because  without  reali- 
zation of  their  atrocity.  In  such  times  of  depravity  as  those, 
they  could  retain  much  physically  which,  at  the  present  day,  is 
swept  away  with  the  consciousness  of  sin  and  vice.  A  Cleopatra 
could  then  retain  her  beauty  without  stamp  of  sin.  But  now, 
do  what  men  and  women  may  to  conceal  their  moral  looseness, 
which  of  old  seemed  no  sin,  the  higher  consciousness  of 
Christian  society,  and  their  own,  stamps  them  indelibly  in  public 
view.  Certain  lines  of  which  they  are  unaware  come  gradually 
on  the  face.  The  whole  expression,  brightness  and  freshness  of 
eye,  tint  of  complexion,  are  inevitably  changed,  for  transgression 
will  have  its  say  in  printing  character  on  the  features. 

The  physical  effects  of  a  system  of  diet,  combined  with 
exercise,  are  well  exemplified  by  the  condition  of  men  in  training 
for  some  kind  of  athletic  contest.  The  skin  becomes  clear  and 
ruddy,  any  eruptions  which  they  may  have  disappear.  Their 
eyes  are  bright,  their  muscles  firm.  They  experience  a  sense 
of  elasticity  throughout  their  limbs.  The  action  of  the  heart 
has  been  strengthened,  so  that  the  circulation  is  able  to  meet 
increased  exercise.  This  is  the  greatest  of  all  the  advantages 
in  the  training,  for  it  relates  to  the  most  vital  organs,  and  its 
effect  has  been  demonstrated  to  be  permanent.  Increased 
breathing  capacity,  too,  proves  a  safeguard  against  diseases  of 
the  bronchial  tubes  and  lungs.  Considering  that  a  course  of 
training  does  not  generally  cover  more  than  six  weeks  in  time, 
it  may,  with  advantage,  always  be  prescribed  for  young  men  and 
women  whose  muscular  system  is  decidedly  undeveloped.  This 
is  the  present  tendency  of  universities,  colleges,  and  certain 
schools,  to  insist  that  all  students  shall  take  a  certain  amount 
of  gymnastic  exercise.  Among  women,  athletics  take  the  milder 
form  called  calisthenics. 

Just  as  albumen  differs  in  minor  particulars,  according  to 
the  source  whence  it  is  derived,  so  do  sugars  similarly  differ 
for  the  same  reason.  Sugar  is  a  normal  constituent  of  the  animal 


DIGESTION   AND   INDIGESTION.  129 

body.  It  is  contained  in  the  liver,  in  muscular  tissue,  in  the 
lungs,  kidneys,  spleen,  and  brain.  It  appears  in  these  parts  in 
at  least  three  different  forms.  Their  appropriation  of  it,  there- 
fore, must  be  analogous  to  that  by  which  albumen  is  appropriated 
by  the  organs  of  the  body.  We  consume  sugar  associated  with 
both  animal  and  vegetable  food,  but  far  more  with  vegetable  than 
with  animal  food;  and  the  amount  is  augmented  by  the  trans- 
formation into  sugar  of  the  starch  we  imbibe  in  the  manner 
that  has  been  already  described.  All  varieties  of  it,  whenceso- 
ever  derived,  are  absorbed  into  the  blood  and  also  removed 
from  it  by  the  several  organs  described.  In  addition  to  sugar, 
the  liver  contains  a  large  amount  of  a  peculiar  substance,  similar 
to  starch,  which  is  easily  converted  into  sugar.  The  animal 
starch,  as  it  may  be  called,  is  manufactured  by  the  liver  chiefly 
from  the  elements  furnished  by  vegetable  food.  When,  from 
any  cause,  the  starch-producing  function  of  the  liver  is  inter- 
fered with,  superfluity  of  sugar  appears  in  the  blood  and  symp- 
toms of  the  disease  known  as  diabetes  manifest  themselves. 
Hunger  and  thirst  become  inordinate  in  the  patient,  great  quan- 
tities of  liquid  are  consumed  by  the  system,  and  yet  the  drain 
continues,  nutrition  fails,  the  blood  deteriorates  more  and  more, 
and  the  case  proceeds  to  a  fatal  issue.  A  number  of  grave 
constitutional  disorders  come  from  derangement  of  the  func- 
tions of  the  liver.  Slighter  ones,  produced  by  lesser  disturbance 
of  them,  are  met  with  every  day.  This  is  the  reason  why,  from 
choice  of  food  to  its  digestion,  we  should  care  for  the  action 
of  the  stomach. 

Fat  is  useful  from  the  aesthetic  point  of  view,  on  account 
of  its  covering  irregularities  of  bone  and  muscle.  Being  a  non- 
conductor of  heat,  it  is  also  useful  in  protecting  from  the  cold 
of  the  atmosphere.  It  forms  a  reserve  upon  which  the  individual 
man  or  woman  may  draw  for  energy  and  the  prolongation  of 
life.  Northern  peoples  of  the  globe  instinctively  consume  large 
quantities  of  fat.  The  Eskimo  devour  the  blubber  of  whales  and 
seals,  and  consider  even  a  tallow-candle  a  dainty.  In  the  tropics, 

9 


I3O  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

on  the  contrary,  but  little  fat  food  is  consumed.  Fat  is  a  sub- 
stance intimately  associated  with  albumen  in  the  constitution  of 
cells  and  fibers,  and  contributes  to  the  production  of  muscular 
energy.  A  prize-fighter  comes  out  of  the  ring,  after  a  severe 
contest,  weighing  several  pounds  less  than  when  he  entered  it. 
The  waste  represents  the  exact  amount  of  energy  that  he  has 
expended. 

The  indispensable  and  most  healthful  drink  is  pure  water, 
the  liquid  which  most  effectually  assuages  thirst.  It  is  a  neces- 
sary constituent  of  the  body ;  the  fluidity  of  the  blood  and  of  the 
various  secretions  depends  upon  its  presence.  The  process  of 
digestion  is  promoted  by  drinking  a  certain  amount  of  water,  the 
first  condition  of  digestion  being  solution,  that  is,  the  liquefac- 
tion of  solid  food.  Water  is  the  basis  of  all  other  beverages.  It 
is  present  in  small  amounts  even  in  solid  food,  and  to  this  amount 
cookery  generally  adds  more  or  less,  with  the  result  of  making 
food  more  succulent.  The  question  is  often  asked,  whether  water 
should  be  drunk  while  eating,  or  should  be  taken  only  after  a 
meal.  The  answer  to  this  depends  upon  the  character  of  the 
food  eaten  and  upon  the  particular  constitution  of  the  eater. 
Very  dry  or  salt  food  needs  an  occasional  swallow  of  water 
while  being  eaten,  for  moistening  the  mass  in  the  stomach,  and 
for  stopping  the  thirst.  Persons  in  perfect  health,  whose  diges- 
tive fluids  are  abundant  and  efficient,  need,  while  eating,  no 
more  water  than  sufficient  for  their  thirst.  There  is  a  just  mean 
to  be  observed  between  taking  no  water  at  all  while  eating,  and 
the  other  extreme  of  flooding  the  stomach  with  it.  The  habit  of 
drinking  copiously  of  ice-water  during  meals  retards  the  diges- 
tion, of  course,  by  lowering  the  temperature  of  the  stomach, 
but,  in  a  healthy  person,  will  not  make  indigestion.  As,  how- 
ever, the  practice  of  drinking  ice-water  freely  belongs  especially 
to  the  summer,  the  time  when  perspiration  is  profuse,  it  must 
be  remembered  that  we  can,  with  propriety,  take  much  more 
water  then  than  at  another  season  of  the  year. 

Coffee  possesses  but  little  value  as  a  nutrient,  yet,  as  gen- 


DIGESTION    AND   INDIGESTION.  13! 

erally  drunk,  with  cream  or  milk  and  sugar,  it  is  the  means 
of  supplementing  food  in  the  system.  By  some  chemists  it  has 
been  surmised  that  coffee  is  useful  in  diminishing  the  waste  of 
tissues,  and  that  it  thus  enables  a  certain  quantity  of  food  to 
have  more  effect  than  it  otherwise  would.  Coffee  is  of  decided 
benefit  when,  from  any  cause  whatever,  the  body's  food  is  de- 
creased or  not  at  all  supplied.  Aboard  ship,  at  daylight,  crews 
work  cheerfully  for  a  couple  of  hours  while  their  breakfast  is 
preparing,  reinforced  solely  by  a  pint  tincupful  of  boiling  hot 
coffee.  It  relieves  the  sensations  of  hunger  and  fatigue  of 
troops  in  bivouac  or  on  the  march,  of  sportsmen  and  day  labor- 
ers, of  all  human  beings  subject  to  physical  stress.  This  is 
an  experience  of  the  whole  world  that  has  ever  come  into  con- 
tact with  human  beings  suffering  from  fire,  flood,  or  earthquake, 
and  needing  some  immediate  succor  to  failing  energies.  Taken 
in  moderation,  it  renovates  the  system,  but  taken  immoderately, 
it  has  an  injurious  effect  on  the  nervous  system,  disturbing  the 
healthful  functional  activity  of  the  liver.  It  is  well  known  to 
produce  wakefulness,  and,  therefore,  should  not,  under  ordinary 
circumstances,  be  drunk  in  the  evening.  Those  who  have  a 
night-watch  to  keep,  however,  will  drink  coffee  with  advantage. 
Professional  men,  in  writing  at  night,  sometimes  resort  to  coffee 
for  its  stimulant  effect,  in  order  to  keep  the  brain  sleepless  and 
active.  This  is  a  bad  habit,  or  rather,  is  a  combination  of  bad 
habits.  Eight  hours  of  sleep  are  required  for  health;  these 
cannot  be  encroached  upon  with  impunity.  A  better  practice  is 
to  retire  early,  get  up  early,  and  then  devote  the  time  to  brain- 
work.  Then  is  the  time  for  the  cup  of  coffee.  It  will  banish 
all  cobwebs  from  the  mind  and  body  and  keep  them  pleasantly 
atune  until  time  for  breakfast. 

The  action  of  tea  upon  the  system  is  similar  to  that  of  coffee. 
It  exhilarates,  and,  like  coffee,  supports  the  system  under  de- 
privation of  food.  The  fact  is  not  generally  recognized,  that 
tea,  as  well  as  coffee,  causes  wakefulness.  Indulged  in  to  ex- 
cess, it  seriously  impairs  the  health  of  the  nervous  system.  It 


132  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

contributes  little  or  nothing  directly  to  the  organism.  Used 
in  moderation,  this  beverage  is  an  agreeable  one  at  various 
times  known  to  society.  On  the  other  hand,  taken  in  strong 
infusion,  and  in  large  quantities,  it  may  bring  about  nervous 
disorder.  We  once  knew  a  professional  tea-taster  who  con- 
fessed to  us  that  he  had  grown  so  fond  of  the  drink,  that  he 
was  professionally  and  privately  drinking  it  all  day  long.  He 
had  become  so  reduced  in  flesh,  and  was  so  nervous,  that  nothing 
but  a  voyage  to  Europe  seemed  to  save  him.  He  came  back  from 
that,  after  some  months,  after  long  abstention  from  his  vice,  so 
stout  that  he  was  hardly  recognizable.  A  large  number  of 
poorly  paid  and  overworked  women  consume  a  great  deal  of 
tea  instead  of  substantial  viands  for  which  its  cost  would  at  least 
partly  pay.  Not  losing  much  time  iu  preparing  and  drinking 
it,  and  perceiving  its  agreeable  stimulation,  they  become  ac- 
customed largely  to  depend  upon  it,  but  all  the  conditions  of  their 
life  are  unhygienic,  and  they  introduce  this  one  which  aggra- 
vates their  evils. 

Tea-drinking  among  the  well-to-do  is  peculiarly  associated 
with  the  idea  of  domestic  quiet  and  comfort.  Cowper  writes : — 

"Now  stir  the  fire  and  close  the  shutters  fast, 
Let  fall  the  curtain,  wheel  the  sofa  'round, 
And,  while  the  bubbling  and  loud-hissing  urn 
Throws  up  a  steamy  column,  and  the  cups 
That  cheer,  but  not  inebriate,  wait  on  each, 
So  let  us  welcome  peaceful  evening  in!" 

The  excessive  fondness  of  Dr.  Johnson  for  tea,  and  the 
number  of  cups  of  it  that  he  could  drink,  are  as  much  a  part  of 
our  mental  picture  of  the  man  as  are  his  ungainly  form  and 
modes  of  speech.  The  Russians  are  much  addicted  to  the  use 
of  tea  prepared  in  the  great  "samovar,"  or  urn,  that  they  use, 
a  conspicuous  feature  of  every  inn  in  Russia.  They  use  a  small 
infusion  of  lemon-juice  in  their  preparation  of  the  beverage. 
In  Russia,  too,  tea  is  made  up  into  compact  masses  which  have 


DIGESTION    AND    INDIGESTION.  133 

been  subjected  to  pressure  so  heavy  as  to  make  them,  with  the 
fatty  matter  that  is  introduced  in  the  manufacture,  as  hard  as 
plugs  of  chewing  tobacco.  These,  on  journeys,  can  be  dissolved 
for  use  as  a  drink,  but  they  are  sometimes  also  eaten  as  food. 

Chocolate,  prepared  with  milk,  makes  a  rich  and  palatable 
beverage.  It  is  used  largely  in  this  country,  but  not  so  habitually 
as  either  tea  or  coffee.  In  Mexico,  the  West  Indies,  and  in 
South  America,  it  is  an  article  of  universal  consumption.  It  is 
of  decided  nutritive  value,  the  relation  of  its  nutritive  ingredi- 
ents being  about  one-tenth  of  starch,  about  two-tenths  of  albu- 
minous matter,  and  about  five-tenths  of  fat.  It  is  an  agreeable 
and  nourishing  drink  'to  those  whose  stomachs  can  assimilate  it, 
but  for  some  persons  it  contains  too  much  oil  for  easy  digestion. 
However,  in  its  finer  varieties,  where  the  oil  is  largely  decreased 
in  the  manufacture,  that  objection  is  generally  removed.  Those 
persons  who  cannot  drink  chocolate  can  often  drink  cocoa  with- 
out difficulty. 

The  question  whether  or  not  alcoholic  drinks  possess  any 
value  as  food  has  been  and  still  is  debated  among  physiolog- 
ical chemists.  It  would  seem  that  alcohol  adds  to  the  body  noth- 
ing of  which  it  stands  in  need,  or  which  cannot  be  obtained 
from  other  sources,  and,  therefore,  that  it  cannot  be  regarded 
as  contributing  directly  to  nutrition,  that  is,  cannot  be  a  true 
food.  A  moderate  amount,  taken  with  or  after  a  late  dinner, 
may  be  beneficial  in  promoting  digestion.  Healthy  adults  need 
no  alcohol.  A  small  amount  of  alcohol  may  excite  secretion  of 
the  gastric  juice,  but  a  large  amount  is  apt  to  embarrass  diges- 
tion by  precipitating  the  pepsin  of  the  stomach.  The  secretion 
of  this  digestive  fluid  is  active  enough  in  those  who  are  consti- 
tutionally strong  and  who  obey  the  laws  of  health. 

Of  the  danger  of  forming  a  habit  of  taking  spirituous  liquor 
and  of  the  wide-spread  evil  which  it  causes,  it  needs  not  to 
enlarge  here,  the  consequences  of  that  kind  of  overindulgence 
being  so  well  known.  It  is  enough  to  state  that  the  irregular- 
ities wrought  by  excessive  use  of  alcohol  inevitably  undermine 


134  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

the  health  and  constitution.  The  constant  presence  of  alcohol  in 
the  circulation  induces  many  alterations  in  the  normal  compo- 
sition of  the  solids  and  fluids  of  the  body,  and  interferes  with 
the  processes  of  its  nutrition.  An  alcoholic  beverage*  may,  how- 
ever, be  judiciously  used  for  relieving  excessive  fatigue  or  pain. 
Physical  or  mental  depression  of  tone  from  severe  labor  may 
occasionally  warrant  its  employment,  and  under  these  conditions 
it  materially  aids  digestion.  Elderly  persons  may,  with  propri- 
ety, use  some  form  of  alcoholic  beverage  with  advantage,  espe- 
cially at  dinner.  It  delays  the  waste  of  tissue,  and  is  thus  an 
economizer  of  strength.  There  are  other  occasions  when  alco- 
hol may  be  of  service  to  the  system,  but  those  are  they  which 
should  always  be  considered  as  medical  treatments,  and  be  under 
the  supervision  of  a  physician.  The  practice  in  some  countries 
where  the  grape  is  plentiful,  of  drinking  light  wines  at  dinner, 
seems  very  conducive  to  the  cause  of  temperance. 

The  people  of  this  country  undoubtedly  eat  too  much 
albuminous  food,  especially  animal  food.  Habitual  diet  is  most 
advantageously  composed  of  substances  drawn  from  the  vege- 
table as  well  as  from  the  animal  kingdom.  The  injury  resulting 
from  excessive  consumption  of  nitrogenous  substances  has 
already  been  here  described.  The  abundance  of  food  in  the 
United  States,  the  general  prosperity  of  its  people,  the  high 
rate  of  wages  as  compared  with  that  of  other  countries,  the  con- 
sequent free  and  lavish  life  here,  which  foreigners  regard  as 
wasteful,  lead  to  the  consumption  of  far  more  food  than  the 
human  organism  requires,  or  by  which  it  is  benefited.  Here 
come  immigrants  who,  in  their  native  lands,  have  been  chiefly 
nourished  on  bread  and  vegetables,  in  whose  mess  meat  scarcely 
appeared  more  than  once  a  week,  and  immediately  they  demand 
here  meat  three  times  a  day,  according  to  the  too  prevalent 
American  practice  which  they  find  on  landing.  Nature  here,  as 
elsewhere,  allows  a  generous  margin  within  which  the  appetite 
may  be  safely  indulged,  but  nature  therefore  prescribes  bounds 
beyond  which  it  is  not  safe  to  trench,  and  exacts  inexorably  a 


DIGESTION    AND    INDIGESTION.  135 

penalty  for  transgression.  Every  debt  to  nature  must,  in  fact, 
be  paid  in  full  without  discount.  Benjamin  Franklin,  in  his 
autobiography,  tells  of  an  old  Catholic  lady  who  had  an  attic 
room  in  a  house  in  which  he  lodged  in  London,  when  work- 
ing there  as  a  journeyman  printer.  She  had  been  educated 
abroad,  and  had  intended  to  take  the  veil.  Her  health  becom- 
ing affected,  she  had  been  obliged  to  return  to  England,  where 
she  had  made  up  her  mind  to  live  in  seclusion,  giving  away  her 
estate  for  charity,  reserving  for  herself  only  twelve  pounds 
sterling  a  year.  She  lived  mainly  upon  water-gruel,  and  used 
fire  only  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  her  food.  Franklin,  who 
visited  her,  remarked  that  "she  looked  pale,  but  was  never 
sick;  and  I  give  it  as  another  instance  on  how  small  an  income 
life  and  health  may  be  supported/'  It  is  to  be  remarked,  how- 
ever, of  a  case  like  this,  that,  when  there  is  next  to  no  exercise 
taken,  it  requires  but  little  food  to  support  life.  Though  it  be 
possible  in  quietude  to  support  life  and  enjoy  health  upon  a  small 
quantity  of  food,  work  requires  more ;  for  the  body  is  a  machine 
that  must  be  supplied  with  fuel  to  be  effective  in  proportion  to 
power  exercised.  Nature,  however,  allows  us  to  eat  and  drink 
considerably  more  than  the  machine  needs,  but  abstemiousness 
is  always  more  beneficial  to  us  than  overeating,  to  say  nothing 
of  gluttony. 

As  regards  diet,  every  one  should  have  general  rules,  but 
they  should  not  be  rigid.  We  cannot  do  better  than  accept  our 
experience  from  nature.  A  famous  Italian  physician  once  ac- 
customed himself  for  a  time  to  live  with  the  most  undeviating 
regularity.  He  had  a  chair  constructed  with  scales-attachment, 
by  which  he  knew  his  weight  at  a  glance.  When  he  had  taken 
a  certain  weight  of  food,  he  immediately  arose  from  the  table. 
But  this  practice  he  had  instituted  for  the  purpose  of  scientific 
research.  In  ordinary  life  such  precautions  are  worse  than  use- 
less; they  are  hypochondriacal  in  tendency. 

There  are,  as  stated  here  before,  physical  idiosyncrasies  in 
different  individuals.  Some  persons  can  eat  with  easy  digestion 


136  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

a  large  amount  of  some  dish  which  others  cannot  partake  of 
in  the  smallest  degree  without  manifest  indigestion,  indicated 
by  taste  of  it  for  hours  afterwards,  by  tendency  to  eructation, 
by  uncomfortableness,  and  even  by  vomiting.  There  are  per- 
sons who  cannot  eat  strawberries  without  cayenne  pepper,  lest 
they  produce  a  rash.  There  are  others  who  cannot  eat  certain 
sea-foods.  Others,  again,  there  are,  who  cannot  eat  pickles, 
spices,  and  smoked  meats.  All  such  persons,  having  fixed  the 
fact  to  a  certainty  regarding  their  own  peculiarities  in  this 
respect,  should  abstain  from  the  obnoxious  foods.  For  such 
eccentricities  of  the  stomach  there  is  no  cure.  We  call  them 
idiosyncrasies.  Those  just  discussed  relate  to  foods,  but  there 
are  also  analogous  ones,  very  naturally,  with  respect  to  medi- 
cines. There  are  persons  who  cannot  take  certain  medicines 
which  by  the  great  majority  of  the  world  are  taken  without  the 
slightest  difficulty. 

Dainty,  fastidious  eating  is  more  common  among  women 
than  among  men.  The  appetite  of  men  is  generally  what  may 
be  called  healthier  than  is  that  of  women  generally.  Women, 
too,  are  more  susceptible,  as  a  general  rule,  than  men  are,  to 
the  influences  of  refined  service  of  a  table.  But,  speaking  of 
the  question  of  eating  alone,  there  are  more  women  than  men 
addicted  to  kickshaws  instead  of  eating  substantial  and  nutritious 
comestibles.  Nevertheless,  some  men,  not  only  among  the  seden- 
tary, but  among  those  of  the  active  outdoor  world,  exhibit  strange 
likes  and  dislikes  for  foods.  This,  when  extreme,  has  been 
recognized  in  many  persons  as  hereditary,  but  generally  it 
arises  from  early  habits  of  not  seeing  variety  on  the  table.  Not 
long  since  we  called  to  account  a  man  boasting  of  his  varied 
diet,  by  enumerating  dozens  of  things  that  he  had  never  had 
on  his  table,  and  many  of  which  he  had  not  elsewhere  had  the 
curiosity  to  taste.  This  is  no  idiosyncrasy  of  the  body,  it  is 
idiosyncrasy  of  the  mind. 

Some  dietetic  distastes  result  merely  from  prejudice.  We 
have  been  in  parts  of  the  country  where  farmers,  ill  supplied 


DIGESTION    AND    INDIGESTION.  137 

with  meat,  could  not  be  induced  to  touch  a  mushroom,  and  where 
they  flung  away  the  sweetbread  when  they  sent  a  butchered 
calf  to  market.  In  the  matter  of  sweetbreads,  however,  they 
seem  of  late  years  to  have  had  the  universal  eye-opening  of 
market  value.  These  things  obtain  among  the  same  people, 
speaking  the  same  language.  When  we  study  the  differences  in 
taste  among  people  foreign  to  each  other,  their  dissimilarity  in 
appreciation  of  food  seems  wonderful,  even  after  making  all 
allowances  for  difference  of  climate  and  products  of  soil.  To 
the  average  American,  even  the  idea  of  eating  a  snail  is  revolt- 
ing, but  in  Paris  and  some  other  large  cities  of  Europe,  it  is 
thought  a  great  dainty.  The  oyster,  which  is  here  eaten  raw 
with  so  much  gusto,  is  repugnant  to  a  person  brought  up  in 
the  interior  of  many  countries.  And  so  one  might  proceed, 
citing  dozens  of  cases  of  the  sort.  Humboldt  tells  us  that  the 
Indian  agricultural  laborers  of  Mexico  live  almost  entirely  upon 
Indian  corn  and  cereal  grains.  The  Indians  of  the  Pampas  of 
Brazil  were  found  by  Sir  Francis  Head  to  subsist  entirely  upon 
the  flesh  of  their  horses,  having  neither  bread,  fruit,  nor  vege- 
tables. The  Gauchos  of  the  Argentine  Republic,  who  are  herds- 
men, live  entirely  on  roast  beef,  scarcely  ever  tasting  farinace- 
ous or  other  vegetable  food,  and  their  sole  beverage  is  Paraguay 
tea,  taken  without  sugar.  In  former  times  the  Hawaiian 
Islanders  preferred  their  fish  raw,  even  eating  a  fish  alive  and 
flapping.  In  the  Sahara,  dates  are  the  principal  article  of  food 
for  men,  women,  children,  horses,  asses,  camels,  sheep,  fowls, 
and  dogs.  The  Maoris,  of  New  Zealand,  think  a  fat  dog  excel- 
lent food,  in  fact,  a  dainty.  Camel-meat  and  milk  are  the  food 
of  the  Nubian.  The  Kaffir,  of  Africa,  thinks  curdled  milk  supe- 
rior to  fresh.  The  Bosjesmans  eat  bulbs,  roots,  wild  garlic,  gum, 
berries,  the  larvae  of  lizards,  ants,  locusts,  and  grasshoppers.  The 
Chinese  eat  almost  everything.  So  do  the  native  Australians. 
There  are  fat  worms  which  subsist  on  the  juices  of  certain  trees, 
that  have  been  eaten  by  some  of  the  natives  of  South  America. 
The  list  might  be  made  twice  as  long  as  it  is,  but  it  is  sufficient 


138  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

to  show  what  diversity  of  tastes  there  is,  and  also  that  what 
we  call  taste  for  foods  is  largely  a  matter  of  early  .education. 

The  Romans,  even  in  their  epicurean  days  of  luxury,  ad- 
mitted many  articles  to  their  tables  which  are  now  discarded 
by  civilized  peoples.  Meat  of  puppies  was  one  of  their  dishes, 
and  also  the  meat  of  the  ass.  Peacocks'  tongues  and  brains  were 
served  at  feasts.  But  this  was  done  more  for  ostentation  than 
for  any  other  reason.  The  peacock,  with  its  opulent  tail  wide- 
spread, also  formed  a  feature  of  their  banquets.  The  parade 
of  the  tail,  however,  was  taken  even  then  at  its  true  value, 
as  satire  shows.  The  Romans  ate  swans  and  cranes,  birds  of  a 
decidedly  rank  flesh  in  flavor.  Among  fish  they  seem  to  have 
prized  most  of  all  the  mullet,  which  shows,  if  the  species  is  like 
ours,  that  they  must  have  had  little  educated  taste  to  prefer 
it  to  some  other  fish  at  their  disposal.  Their  apparently  most 
extraordinary  dish  for  a  dainty  was  that  of  caterpillars.  Taste 
is,  therefore,  slightly  congenital  and  largely  educated:  that  is, 
slightly  derived  from  birth,  and  largely  acquired  with  opportu- 
nities throughout  life.  And  a  strange  law  about  taste  is  this, 
that  if,  upon  trying  it  frequently,  one  remains  perfectly  indif- 
ferent to  an  article  of  food,  one  will  remain  so  to  the  end  of  his 
life;  but  if,  on  the  contrary,  one  dislikes  an  article  upon  first 
tasting  it,  one  can  by  persistence  acquire  for  it  a  taste  that  is 
stronger  than  one's  natural  taste  for  other  things.  The  dif- 
ficulty is  in  inducing  the  masses  of  people  anywhere  to  persist  in 
eating  some  new  food  that  would  be  beneficial  to  them.  No 
country  ever  needed  maize  (Indian  corn)  more  than  Ireland, 
subject  at  times  to  famine,  yet  it  was  once  almost  impossible  to 
get  the  people  there  to  eat  it  long  enough  to  acquire  the  taste  for 
it.  "Why,"  said  an  Irishwoman  who  had  come  with  her  hus- 
band to  this  country,  "you  wouldn't  expect  me  to  eat  that  (mean- 
ing little  hominy),  that's  what  my  husband  gives  to  his  horse." 
In  the  course  of  a  long  time,  however,  driven  by  necessity, 
these  people  came  to  like  it.  Ireland  has  been  chosen  here  for 
citation  as  an  extreme  case,  but  well  do  philanthropists  know 


DIGESTION    AND   INDIGESTION.  139 

how  ill  their  trouble  has  been  requited  in  the  interest  of  the 
poor  generally  of  Europe,  in  their  attempts  to  introduce  that 
food.  Yet  the  number  of  palatable  preparations  that  can  be 
made  from  Indian  corn  is  not  equalled  by  any  other  food  on  earth. 
It  contains  about  as  much  albuminous  matter  as  does  wheat,  and 
four  times  as  much  fat.  Things,  however,  are  in  some  places 
different  now  from  what  they  were  seventy  years  ago.  Pied- 
mont, in  France,  is  said  to  consume  now  as  much  Indian  meal  as 
wheat  flour.  In  Ireland  it  has  gradually  won  a  great  victory, 
and  now  stands  as  an  able  assistant  to  the  potato.  One  of  "our 
European  consuls  devoted  much  time  and  labor  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  Indian  corn  as  an  article  of  diet  into  England  and  on 
the  continent  of  Europe.  All  persons  who  have  visited  Europe 
know  how  inferior  the  oysters  of  its  waters  are  to  those  of 
America.  Yet  it  has  been  only  within  very  recent  years  that 
there  has  been  demand  for  ours  in  England.  Now,  however, 
it  is  said,  six  thousand  bushels  of  them  are,  in  winter,  weekly 
shipped  from  New  York  to  England,  and  that  the  sales  amount 
to  three  million  dollars'  worth  of  them  during  their  season. 

A  good  digestion  is  a  great  blessing;  a  bad  one,  especially 
if  it  amounts  to  constant  dyspepsia,  a  great  ill.  Handworkers, 
whether  indoors  or  outdoors,  are  less  subject  to  indigestion 
than  are  brain-workers,  especially  laborers  who  work  in  the 
open  air.  Nevertheless,  cases  are  not  rare  among  farmers  and 
mechanics  where  poor  preparation  and  hasty  eating  of  food 
entail  dyspepsia.  It  seriously  interferes  with  all  work,  espe- 
cially with  that  which  is  intellectual.  Carlyle's  denunciation  of  it 
is  bitter.  He  says:  "The  accursed  hag,  dyspepsia,  had  got  me 
bitted  and  bridled,  and  was  ever  striving  to  make  my  living  day 
a  thing  of  ghastly  nightmares;  I  resisted  what  I  could,  never 
did  yield  or  surrender  to  her ;  but  she  kept  my  heart  right  heavy, 
my  battle  being  sore  and  hopeless."  A  peasant  by  birth  and 
by  early  experience  of  life,  Carlyle  doubtless  was  poorly  nour- 
ished for  many  years,  and  his  great  brain  action  doubtless,  also, 
exasperated  the  constitutional  and  acquired  weakness  of  his 


I4O  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

stomach.  We  all  know  how  a  meal  eaten  with  relish  and  per- 
fectly digested  predisposes  to  cheerfulness,  and  how,  on  the 
contrary,  little  appetite  and  indigestion  are  productive  of  mental 
as  well  as  physical  discomfort.  In  the  race  of  life  one  is  seriously 
handicapped  by  poor  digestion.  Men  successful  in  any  sphere  of 
life  may  break  down  in  digestion,  but  in  the  majority  of  cases 
they  have  at  least  started  with  good  digestion. 

Certain  practices  which  become  habits  are  conducive  to  good 
digestion.  One  is  regularity  of  hours  for  meals,  admitting 
that  the  affairs  of  life  do  not  allow  of  undeviating  attendance. 
Nature  is  tolerant  of  such  deviation,  but  has  its  limits  to  conces- 
sion. People  should  bear  in  mind  that  no  business  is  more  im- 
portant than  the  preservation  of  health.  The  members  of  the 
middle  classes,  with  their  regular  lives  in  hours  of  labor,  eat- 
ing, sleep,  and  recreation,  comparative  freedom  from  ambition 
and  exacting  responsibilities,  have  an  advantage  in  this  respect 
over  their  employers  and  over  the  members  of  the  purely  frivo- 
lous fashionable  world  of  society.  Inhabitants  of  quiet  country 
towns  transact  business  leisurely,  and  have  time  to  attend  to  the 
demands  of  their  bodies.  Thackeray  gives  a  pleasant  picture  of 
life  in  a  little  Swiss  town.  He  says :  "The  schoolboys,  with  book 
and  satchel,  in  smart  uniforms,  march  up  to  the  gymnasium  and 
return  thence  at  their  stated  time.  There  is  one  coffee-house  in 
the  town,  and  I  see  one  old  gentleman  goes  to  it.  There  are 
shops  with  no  customers  seemingly,  and  the  lazy  tradesmen  look 
out  of  their  little  windows  at  the  single  stranger  sauntering  by. 
There  is  a  stall  with  baskets  of  queer  little  black  grapes  and 
apples,  and  a  pretty  brisk  trade  with  half  a  dozen  urchins  stand- 
ing round.  But,  beyond  this,  there  is  scarce  any  talk  or  move- 
ment in  the  street.  There's  nobody  at  the  bookshop.  'If  you 
will  have  the  goodness  to  come  again  in  an  hour'  says  the 
banker,  with  his  mouth  full  of  dinner  at  one  o'clock,  'you  can 
have  the  money/  The  dull,  quiet  scene  has  an  attraction  for 
many,  worn  out  by  the  'storm  and  stress'  of  city  life,  although  it 
must  be  confessed  that  few  such  can  bear  the  monotony  after 


DIGESTION    AND    INDIGESTION.  14! 

they  have  recuperated  their  health.  Then  they  must  rush  back 
again  to  the  whirl  of  life.  Then  they  find  themselves  in  accord 
with  Dr.  Johnson's  dictum :  'Sir,  when  you  have  seen  one  green 
field,  you  have  seen  all  green  fields.  I  love  to  look  upon  the 
face  of  man :  let  us  take  a  walk  down  Fleet  Street.' ' 

There  is  something  more  delectable,  as  a  constancy,  than 
either  this  village  that  Thackeray  describes  or  the  street  that 
Dr.  Johnson  approves.  The  ancients  hit  it  when  they  believed 
in  mcdiis  tutissimus  ibis,  that  one  should  not  go  to  extremes. 

A  spirit  of  cheerfulness  has  this,  among  other  things,  to 
recommend  it,  that  it  favors  the  digestive  action.  Nature  has 
kindly  conferred  the  boon  that  the  functions  of  life  which  are 
necessary  shall  be  at  the  same  time  pleasurable.  The  sense  of 
taste  ensures  the  enjoyment  of  a  meal,  and,  if  educated,  has 
delicate  appreciation  of  flavor.  But  there  is  a  vast  difference 
among  human  beings  in  this  education  and  in  capacity  for  edu- 
cation. The  difference  is  well  illustrated  by  an  occurrence 
assigned  half  a  century  or  more  ago  to  the  Military  Academy  at 
West  Point,  where  a  cadet  was  represented  as  passing  his  plate  to 
his  neighbor  to  be  handed  to  the  head  of  the  table,  accompanying 
it  with  the  instruction,  "Some  chicken,  please,  dark  meat,  a 
little  white,  and  a  morsel  of  liver."  His  plate,  reaching  the 
second  man  to  pass  it,  he  said:  "Oh,  bother,  big  piece,  any- 
where !"  If  the  table  be  approached  with  the  spirit  of  cheerful- 
ness, and  its  viands  be  consumed  leisurely  with  pleasant  talk, 
the  digestive  processes  begin  under  the  most  favorable  auspices. 
Eating,  on  the  contrary,  with  haste,  perhaps  with  more  atten- 
tion to  a  newspaper  than  to  the  meal,  is  most  unfavorable  to  good 
digestion.  Some  persons  are,  it  is  true,  compelled  by  force  of 
circumstances  to  solitariness,  but  most  persons  are  able  to  eat 
in  company. 

Digestibility  is  not  always  associated  with  nutritive  value 
in  a  food.  Some  articles  are  comparatively  innutritious,  but 
are  easily  digested.  They  are  not  worth  much  for  sustenance, 
but  whatever  there  is  in  them  can  be  easily  appropriated  by  the 


142  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

system.  On  the  other  hand,  some  articles  which  possess  great 
nutritive  value  are  comparatively  difficult  of  digestion.  The 
alimentary  principles  with  which  they  abound  are  difficult  for 
the  digestive  juices  to  extract.  Proper  preparation  of  food  for 
the  table  is  of  the  highest  importance.  To  be  digestible  and 
palatable,  most  of  the  articles  of  food  that  we  consume  depend 
largely  upon  cookery.  On  account  of  the  large  amount  of  starch 
that  vegetables  contain,  they  should  be  thoroughly  cooked,  in 
order  that  the  starch  may  burst  through  its  cells  and  be  fit  for 
the  action  of  the  digestive  fluids.  The  majority  of  meats  are 
nutritious  and  digestible  when  boiled,  stewed,  broiled,  or  roasted. 
Baked  and  fried  meats  are  more  difficult  of  digestion.  The 
cookery  bane  of  America  has  been  the  frying  of  meat,  most 
prevalent  on  farms.  But  people  are  learning  that  broiling  makes 
meat  not  only  more  digestible  than  frying,  but  far  more  palat- 
able. 

It  is  not  healthful  to  undertake  great  mental  or  physical 
exertion  after  a  full  meal.  For  this  reason,  a  dinner-hour  at 
the  close  of  the  day  is  preferable  to  one  at  noon.  The  system 
requires  some  sustenance  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  but  digestion 
should  not  be  taxed  at  that  time.  A  little  luncheon  is  all-suffi- 
cient. After  a  hearty  meal,  both  mind  and  body  should  be  slug- 
gish, because  the  nervous  system  is  directed  towards  digestion, 
and  the  circulation  has  the  same  need.  The  function  of  diges- 
tion, in  a  word,  is  the  chief  bodily  process  at  that  time,  and  the 
nervous  system  cannot  rightly  spare  force  from  it  for  other 
parts  of  the  body.  Drowsiness  is  natural  after  a  hearty  meal, 
and  may  be  profitably  indulged  in  by  a  short  nap ;  digestion  then 
proceeding  without  hindrance.  Some  people  imagine  that  they 
must  take  a  walk  after  a  hearty  meal,  in  order  to  shake  off  the 
feeling  of  lethargy,  but  this  is  an  injurious  practice.  Great 
fatigue  disturbs  and  delays  the  operations  of  the  stomach. 
Positive  exhaustion  takes  away  the  appetite,  and  in  this  con- 
dition one  should  not  eat  much.  The  lightest  sort  of  supper 
before  retiring  predisposes  to  agreeable  sleep.  The  prejudice 


DIGESTION    AND    INDIGESTION.  1143 

against  late  suppers  arises  from  the  fact  that  most  persons  then 
eat  injudiciously  as  to  quality  and  quantity  of  food.  Unpleas- 
ant mental  causes  influence  digestion  unfavorably,  just  as  cheer- 
fulness influences  it  favorably.  Melancholy,  depression  of 
spirits,  anger,  embarrass  the  function.  The  practice  among  the 
ancients  of  having  music  during  meals  was  conducive  to  good 
digestion.  In  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  now,  and  in  many 
other  cities,  the  practice  has  been  revived  in  some  restaurants. 

The  flesh  of  very  young  animals  is  not  so  digestible  as  that 
of  older  animals,  not  distinctively  old.  Veal  and  lamb  are  not 
so  digestible  as  are  beef  and  mutton.  The  meat  of  really  aged 
animals  is  tough,  unpalatable,  and  indigestible.  Pork  is  decid- 
edly unwholesome  in  summer.  Mutton  is,  for  most  persons, 
more  digestible  than  beef.  There  are  some  persons,  however, 
who  cannot  tolerate  mutton.  Bacon  is  better  borne  by  the  stom- 
ach than  is  fresh  pork.  Calves',  or  better  still,  sheeps'  liver, 
although  a  delicious  dish  when  fried  with  thin  slices  of  bacon, 
is  too  rich  for  some  stomachs.  The  meat  of  chickens  and  tur- 
keys is  easier  of  digestion  than  is  that  of  ducks  and  geese.  Fish 
are  nutritious  and  savory.  Though  possessing  less  nutritive  value 
than  meat,  yet  when  properly  cooked  they  admirably  support  life 
and  furnish  a  most  agreeable  addition  to  the  table.  Salted,  or 
salted  and  smoked,  they  are  less  digestible.  Shell-fish,  highly 
esteemed  as  they  generally  are  as  delicacies,  are  capable  in  some 
constitutions  of  giving  rise  to  eruptions  on  the  skin ;  and  a  diet 
which  is  exclusively  of  fish,  whether  fish  or  so-called  shell-fish, 
leads  to  a  most  depraved  condition  of  the  skin  and  system  gener- 
ally. The  outbreak  of  beri-beri  in  the  Japanese  navy  is  ascribed 
to  too  exclusive  use  ot  fish  and  rice  as  food.  Raw  oysters  are 
among  the  most  digestible  things.  Clams,  also,  when  properly 
prepared,  as  soup,  are  very  digestible.  They  should  be  chopped 
fine  and  passed  through  a  hair-sieve,  the  hard,  uncompromising 
particles  being  left  behind.  Soft-boiled  eggs  are  generally  well 
borne  by  delicate  stomachs ;  it  is  very  different  with  hard-boiled 
eggs.  Yet  there  are  persons  with  idiosyncrasy  even  as  to  soft- 
boiled  eggs,  that  makes  them  unendurable  as  food. 


144  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

Vegetables  contain  a  smaller  proportion  of  nitrogenous  mat- 
ter than  that  which  is  contained  in  meats.  Wheat-bread  is  an 
article  of  universal  consumption.  Though  less  palatable  when 
slightly  stale,  it  is  then  more  digestible  than  when  fresh.  Toast- 
ing increases  its  digestibility.  Oatmeal  is  a  valuable  food  pre- 
pared as  porridge,  and  delicious  when  eaten  with  cream.  An 
eruption  of  the  skin  has  sometimes  been  attributed  to  oatmeal, 
but  certainly  it  is  not  of  ordinary  occurrence.  Indian  corn  con- 
tains a  larger  amount  of  fatty  matter  than  do  other  grains. 
Rice  is  distinguished  by  the  large  amount  of  starch  which  it  pos- 
sesses. Peas  and  beans  contain  a  large  amount  of  albumen. 
Potatoes  abound  chiefly  in  starch,  and,  therefore,  should  be  sup- 
plemented by  other  things  at  a  meal.  The  sweet  potato,  boiled 
or  roasted,  is  somewhat  hard  to  digest.  Carrots  and  turnips, 
extensively  used  in  soups  and  stews,  are  acceptable  to  persons  of 
good  digestion.  They,  however,  have  but  little  nutritive  value, 
containing  a  large  proportion  of  water.  Spinach  is  wholesome 
and  easily  digested.  The  onion  is  a  valuable  article  of  diet, 
although  rather  difficult  of  digestion.  Celery,  asparagus,  and 
lettuce  are  wholesome  and  savory.  Stewed  tomatoes,  especially 
if  served  with  rice,  make  a  very  delicious  dish.  Of  themselves, 
however,  they  are  not  very  nutritious.  Fruits,  wrhile  not  directly 
contributing  very  much  nourishment,  are  beneficial,  on  account 
of  the  acids  which  they  contain. 

There  are  many  persons  who  watch  their  sensations  too 
attentively.  By  directing  their  thoughts  too  sedulously  to  the 
digestive  organs,  they  invite  to  a  greater  degree  the  very  troubles 
which  they  have  in  a  small  way,  or  perhaps  not  at  all.  The 
admirable  provisions  of  nature  have  placed  the  circulation,  the 
secretions,  the  movements  and  nervous  supply  of  the  digestive 
tract  under  the  automatic  superintendence  of  minor  nerve-cen- 
ters which  act,  to  a  certain  extent,  quite  independently.  These 
centers  perform  their  duties  most  effectively  when  not  too 
strictly  watched.  Anxious  direction  of  thought  to  these  functions 
disturbs  their  operation  and  may  lead  to  hypochondriacal  con- 
ditions. 


DIGESTION    AND   INDIGESTION.  145 

Imperfect  cookery  is  responsible  for  much  indigestion. 
Hence  the  words  of  the  proverb:  "The  devil  sends  the  cook." 
If  proper  preparation  of  food  be  of  importance  to  the  healthy, 
how  doubly  important  it  must  be  to  those  who  are  dyspeptic. 
In  many  acute  ailments,  the  temporary  abstinence  which  loss 
of  appetite  involves  is  of  advantage  to  the  patient.  In  chronic 
affections,  however,  where  the  tendency  is  to  gradually  failing 
nutrition  and  wasting  of  the  body,  it  is  important  that  food  be 
offered  the  patient  in  the  most  digestible  and  appetizing  form. 
When  the  stomach  is  very  weak,  nourishment  must  be  conveyed 
to  it  in  the  fluid  or  in  the  semi-fluid  form.  Animal  food  must  be 
made  into  soups  or  broths.  Milk  is  in  many  cases  found  to 
be  a  great  dependence.  It  can  be  given  alone,  or,  for  the  sake 
of  variety,  made  into  puddings  with  bread,  rice,  corn-starch, 
or  tapioca.  Much  depends  upon  the  manner  in  which  food  is 
served  to  invalids.  Its  attractive  surroundings  will  often  tempt 
where  their  absence  leads  to  rejection  of  food.  The  neat  ser- 
vice of  a  clean  napkin  spread  on  a  little  tray  is  very  different  from 
a  naked  tray,  with  perhaps  heaped-up  superfluity,  instead  of  some 
dainty,  tempting  dish. 

Some  infectious  diseases  are  disseminated  by  water,  ice, 
and  milk.  Not  long  ago,  a  physician  in  London  succeeded  in 
tracing  an  outbreak  of  typhoid  fever  to  the  eating  of  infected 
ice-cream  sold  by  Italian  street  peddlers.  Some  makers  of  ice- 
cream add  to  it  gelatine,  in  order  to  prevent  its  melting  rapidly. 
If  this  be  pure  no  harm  results.  It  has,  however,  been  found  that 
glue  is  sometimes  employed  as  a  substitute  for  gelatine.  Now, 
as  glue  generally  contains  some  chemical  intended  for  a  pre- 
servative, ice-cream  in  which  it  has  been  used  is  unfit  to  eat. 
Too  much  care  cannot  be  taken  in  large  cities  to  secure  pure 
supplies  of  water,  ice,  cream,  and  milk. 


CHAPTER    XI. 
EDUCATION  OF  THE  BODY. 

AMONG  rude  tribes,  and,  as  well,  among  the  civilized  people 
of  antiquity,  the  attributes  most  necessary,  and  most 
prized,  were  physical  force  and  prowess.  It  was  univer- 
sally recognized  that  the  stronger  had  a  legitimate  right  over 
the  weaker.  This  concession  is  constantly  met  with  in  ancient 
literature.  Accordingly,  members  of  the  male  sex  were,  from 
their  earliest  years,  trained  in  gymnastic  and  martial  exercises, 
through  which  they  could  acquire  vigor,  courage,  and  hardiness. 
These  qualities  were  in  those  times  absolutely  essential  to  a 
people's  security  from  slavery.  Warfare,  conquest,  were  re- 
garded as  the  noblest  occupations  of  life,  the  warrior,  conse- 
quently, as  the  finest  type  of  manhood.  The  arts  of  peace  were 
regarded  as  merely  contributory  to  the  art  of  war.  Competition 
among  boys,  youths,  and  men  lent  interest  to  athletic  sports  that 
were  preparatory  to  military  service. 

During  their  palmy  days,  the  ancient  Greeks  were  renowned 
for  their  athletic  contests,  that  gifted  race  systematically  pur- 
suing them  in  various  forms.  Living  in  a  temperate  climate, 
they  brought  corporal  development  in  symmetry  and  strength 
to  high  excellence.  The  most  noted  of  the  localities  in  which 
games  were  celebrated  was  that  at  Olympia.  These  games 
were  especially  remarkable,  not  only  on  account  of  their  mag- 
nificence, but  from  the  fact  that  they  were  frequented  by  com- 
petitors coming  from  all  the  states  of  Greece.  It  is  the  strangest 
of  all  revivals  in  the  history  of  the  world,  that  the  stadium  at 
Athens  in  which  the  Athenian  games  took  place  has  been  restored 
on  its  old  foundations.  It  was  only  Greeks  who,  in  ancient  times, 
had  the  privilege  of  engaging  in  these  contests.  Now  they  are 
open  to  competition  from  the  whole  world.  The  fourth  series  of 
this  revival  has  just  taken  place,  the  United  States  athletic  repre- 
146 


EDUCATION    OF    THE    BODY.  147 

sentatives  securing  a  much  larger  percentage  of  victories  than 
those  from  any  other  people.  The  most  signal  success  of  any, 
however,  was  that  of  the  Canadian  who  ran  from  the  old  battle- 
field of  Marathon  to  the  stadium  at  Athens,  eclipsing  all  compe- 
tition ;  not  only  is  the  run  of  about  twenty-six  miles  prodigious, 
but  its  successful  accomplishment  in  quick  time  has  a  senti- 
mental value.  When  the  Greeks  won  the  celebrated  battle  of 
Marathon  from  the  Persian  King  Darius,  a  fleet-footed  messen- 
ger carried  the  news  to  Athens,  and  delivering  his  message, 
dropped  dead. 

In  a  very  good  illustrated  article  in  the  American  Review 
of  Reviews  for  July,  1906,  entitled  "American  Athletics  in 
Ancient  Athens,"  Mr.  James  E.  Sullivan  gives  an  account  of  the 
Olympic  games  held  in  Athens  for  1896.  These  games  were  held 
in  Athens,  in  1896;  in  Paris,  in  1900;  in  St.  Louis,  in  1904;  and 
again,  at  Athens,  in  1906.  London  is  now  to  have  them.  Mr. 
Sullivan  gives  two  distances  incorrectly.  He  gives  fifteen  hun- 
dred meters  as  the  mile,  and  eight  hundred  meters  as  the  half 
mile.  But  a  mile  is  sixteen  hundred  and  nine,  plus  meters,  and 
consequently  a  half  mile  is  eight  hundred  and  four  and  a  half, 
plus  meters.  The  late  Marathon- Athens  race  was  won  by  Sher- 
ring,  of  Canada.  There  had  been  seventy-seven  entries  for  it, 
and  the  Greeks  started  in  it  with  thirty-seven  men.  Americans 
won  seventy-five  and  five-sixths  points  out  of  a  possible  one 
hundred  in  all  the  official  games. 

The  account  which  Browning  gives,  in  a  note  to  his  poem 
"Pheidippides,"  makes  the  feat  of  the  original  Greek  courier 
who  ran  twenty-six  and  a  tenth  miles  to  Athens  bearing  the 
news  of  the  Grecian  victory  at  Marathon  much  greater  than  is 
generally  believed.  He  says:  "Pheidippides,  when  the  Per- 
sians went  up  into  Attica,  ran  all  the  way  from  Athens  to 
Sparta  to  demand  aid,  and  ran  back  again  to  be  in  time  to  be 
at  Marathon;  and  then,  the  battle  over,  ran  to  Athens  to  an- 
nounce the  victory,  falling  dead,  having  done  so."  The  last 
lines  of  "Pheidippides"  are: — 


148  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

"So  is  Pheidippides  happy  forever, — the  noble  strong  man 
Who  could  race  like  a  god,  bear  the  face  of  a  god,  whom  a  god 

loved  so  well; 
He  saw  the  land  saved,  he  had  helped  to  save,  and  was  suffered 

to  tell, 

Such  tidings,  yet  never  decline,  but  gloriously  as  he  began, 
So  to  end  gloriously — once  to  shout,  thereafter  to  be  mute: 
Athens  is  saved ! — Pheidippides  dies  in  the  shout  for  his  meed." 

The  battle  of  Marathon  was  one  of  the  turning  battles  of 
the  world.  A  previous  attempt  of  the  Persians  to  invade  Greece 
had  failed.  On  the  occasion  of  the  battle  of  Marathon,  Datis 
and  Artaphernes,  two  generals  of  King  Darius,  of  Persia,  con- 
centrated their  army  at  Marathon.  The  Athenians  sent  to  the 
Spartans  for  assistance,  but,  owing  to  the  moon  not  being,  ac- 
cording to  a  superstition  of  the  Spartans,  in  the  right  quarter 
for  their  starting  on  an  expedition,  they  declined  marching.  The 
Athenians,  nine  thousand  strong,  were,  on  their  way  to  the 
field,  joined  by  the  Platseans,  one  thousand  strong.  Miltiades 
was  one  of  their  ten  generals.  To  him  the  Greek  victory  is 
ascribed.  The  Greeks  charged  the  Persians  in  a  general  ad- 
vance. Their  center  was  broken,  but  their  right  and  left  wings, 
closing  around  the  Persians,  put  them  to  rout  with  great 
slaughter. 

The  Greeks  held  the  festival  of  the  Olympic  games  every 
fifth  year.  For  a  month,  all  hostility  among  different  states  was 
suspended.  The  sports  consisted,  as  now  do  those  in  imitation 
(with  the  exception  of  chariot-racing),  of  foot  races,  wrestling, 
leaping,  boxing.  The  victors  received  nothing  for  prizes  but 
branches  of  laurel.  But  nothing  in  all  Greece  gave  a  man  so 
high  a  standing  as  to  be  a  victor  at  Olympia.  Returning,  his 
fellow-citizens  received  him  with  an  ovation,  conferred  on  him 
the  costliest  gift,  and  he  remained  through  life  a  man  of  the 
highest  distinction.  It  was  not  unusual  for  a  statue  to  be  erected 
in  his  honor  in  his  native  place.  The  estimate  in  which  the  vic- 
tors were  held  is  shown  by  the  way  in  which  a  Greek  writer 


EDUCATION    OF    THE    BODY.  1X49 

speaks  of  one  in  connection  with  a  Spartan  general.  The  writer 
says  that  the  general  was  decked  with  flowers  as  though  he  were 
an  athlete.  He  is  speaking,  in  this  case,  of  Spartan  athletes. 
These,  he  tells  us,  were,  when  victors,  if  they  fell  in  battle, 
honored  by  games  instituted  in  their  memory,  in  which  none  but 
Spartans  were  allowed  to  contend. 

The  Olympic  games  lasted  for  nearly  twelve  centuries.  In 
the  times  of  Grecian  independence,  before  the  Greeks  fell,  through 
internal  dissensions,  before  the  Roman  arms,  they  were  of 
inestimable  service  in  stimulating  interest  in  the  maintenance  of 
a  powerful  and  intrepid  body  of  citizens.  The  benefit  spread 
universally  throughout  the  states  of  Greece.  The  youth  of  the 
whole  people  was  in  constant  athletic  exercise.  Those  who  took 
part  in  the  games  were  obliged,  as  already  said,  to  be  of  Hellenic 
descent.  But  there  was  also  another  requirement,  that  they 
should  be,  in  character,  free  of  any  political  or  religious  stain. 
No  social  station  was  regarded  so  high  as  to  debar  a  man  from 
competing  in  these  contests.  Socrates",  although  high  as  a  phil- 
osopher, was  regardful  of  physical  culture.  His  constitution,  by 
nature  robust,  was  reinforced  by  his  habits  of  life.  Upon  sev- 
eral occasions  he  served  as  a  soldier  on  the  field  of  battle,  and 
was  praised  for  his  endurance  and  courage.  It  is  told  of  him 
that  at  the  battle  of  Potidea  he  saved  the  life  of  the  wounded 
Alcibiades. 

The  Romans,  although  greatly  influenced  in  literature, 
taste,  and  philosophy  by  the  Greeks,  differed  vastly  from  them 
in  their  views  of  public  games.  They  considered  it  derogatory 
to  appear  at  performances  in  the  arena.  It  remained  for  a  vain- 
glorious Roman  Emperor,  in  the  decadence  of  Rome,  to  make 
there  a  public  exhibition  of  himself.  The  athletic  exercises  of  the 
Romans,  except  the  military  ones,  were  taken  in  private.  The 
public  games  of  Rome  were  of  the  most  brutal  kind,  the  favor- 
ite show  being  that  of  gladiatorial  contests,  where,  as  Byron 
says,  a  man  was  "butchered  to  make  a  Roman  holiday."  Dur- 
ing the  decline  of  the  Roman  Empire  the  populace  was  so 


I5O  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

lazy  and  degenerate  that  it  found  its  chief  pleasure  in  frequent- 
ing baths  and  plays.  Barbarian  vigor  was  called  upon  to  sup- 
port the  tottering  Empire,  and  the  legions  of  Rome  were  re- 
cruited from  the  provinces.  The  barbarians,  who  from  century 
to  century  attacked  the  vast  and  decaying  Empire,  were  hard- 
ened by  migration  and  warfare.  The  Goths,  the  Huns,  and  other 
invaders  were  invigorated  by  relentless  energy  of  invasion. 
After  the  fall  of  the  imperial  city,  Rome,  society  fell  into  a 
chaotic  condition  under  the  prevalent  dominion  of  force. 

As  the  germs  of  modern  civilization  gradually  arose  from 
the  ruins  of  the  old  world,  as  feudalism  and  chivalry  gradually 
developed,  military  service  again  became  general  among  the 
most  stable  elements  of  the  new  order  of  things.  The  heavy 
accoutrements  and  armor  of  chivalry  could  not  dispense  with 
brawn  and  training  if  success  were  to  be  achieved  upon  the 
battle-field.  Knights  were  constantly  practiced  in  martial  exer- 
cises. The  tournaments  which  were  held  from  time  to  time  were 
contests  in  which  a  number  of  mounted  knights  joined  in  single 
combat  or  in  melee.  Jousts  were  displays  of  skill  between  two 
rival  knights,  and  were  of  much  more  frequent  occurrence  than 
tournaments  were.  It  was  always  the  proper  thing  for  cham- 
pions to  engage  each  other  in  combat  upon  the  slightest  pretence, 
the  charms  of  their  respective  lady-loves,  what  not.  The  ex- 
travagance of  their  doings  is  portrayed  by  a  master-hand  in 
"Don  Quixote."  The  most  superb  description  of  a  tournament 
to  be  found  in  all  literature  is  that  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  his 
"Ivanhoe,"  of  the  field  of  'Ashby-de-la-Zouche.  Later,  we  have 
in  the  same  volume  bis  wonderful  picture  of  the  duel  between 
Ivanhoe  and  the  Knight  Templar,  Sir  Brian  de  Bois-Guilbert, 
upon  which  was  to  depend,  through  appeal  to  heaven  to  sustain 
the  right,  the  reputation  of  the  lovely  Jewess,  Rebecca. 

At  last  the  introduction  of  gunpowder  into  warfare  changed 
its  whole  character  and  the  character  of  nations.  No  longer 
could  aristocratic,  mailed  warriors,  well  mounted  upon  mailed 
steeds,  ride  down  whole  squadrons  of  unarmored  foot-soldiers. 


EDUCATION    OF   THE   BODY.  15! 

The  light  of  democracy  dawned  upon  the  world,  and  infantry 
have  been  from  that  day  to  this  the  mainstay  of  armies.  Then 
the  strategical  and  tactical  skill  of  leaders  became  of  more 
importance  than  their  individual  strength  and  prowess.  Athlet- 
icism fell  into  comparative  neglect  and  disuse.  Then,  as  now, 
in  every  country,  avocations  which  are  pursued  in  the  open  air 
were  those  that  chiefly  invigorated  the  body.  Then,  as  now, 
the  farmer,  the  soldier,  the  sailor,  the  policeman,  and  those  per- 
sons engaged  in  the  more  laborious  handicrafts  were  more 
distinctively  than  others  men  of  muscle.  The  dwellers  in  cities, 
and  especially  those  among  them  whose  pursuits  demanded  but 
little  bodily  exertion,  declined  in  physique.  The  transmission 
of  this  decline  from  generation  to  generation,  the  consequent 
increase  of  scrofula,  consumption,  and  nervous  diseases  which 
prevailed,  especially  in  large  cities,  at  length  produced  the  marked 
physical  advantage  of  which  we  have  known,  of  the  country- 
bred  over  the  city-bred  nation,  save  among  the  city-bred  whose 
worldly  circumstances  are  such  as  to  allow  them  yearly  to  avail 
themselves  of  a  recreation  which  takes  them  beyond  city 
bounds,  and  save,  too,  among  that  class  which,  large  as  it  is,  is  still 
a  small  minority  of  people,  who  occupy  houses  and  sometimes 
villas  in  the  vicinity  of  cities,  where  they  lead  lives  amidst  pure 
air,  and  spend  in  the  city  only  that  portion  of  time  which  may 
be  devoted  to  business  or  to  pleasure.  At  the  time,  however,  to 
which  allusion  was  here  first  made,  systematic  exercise  and 
gymnastics  fell  into  neglect  in  Europe. 

It  is  strange  that  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau,  than  whom  no 
man  was  ever  more  full  of  vagaries,  should  have  been  among  the 
first  to  call  attention,  in  his  work,  "Emile,"  to  this  flagrant  ne- 
glect of  exercise.  The  most  convincing  demonstration  of  the 
value  of  gymnastics  was  soon  afterwards  given  by  Prussia,  after 
her  humiliation  by  Napoleon  by  his  victory  over  her  at  Jena. 
Prussia  established  schools  for  physical  exercise  under  the  direc- 
tion of  experienced  educators.  They  served  to  train  the  body  in 
strength  and  skill,  and  developed  a  class  of  men  who,  at  last,  as 


152  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

soldiers  vindicated  the  honor  of  their  country.  Ever  since  that 
time  athletic  exercises  have  held  a  high  place  in  the  estimation  of 
Prussia,  and  adoption  of  them  has  spread  from  that  country 
to  all  parts  of  Germany.  In  time,  the  practice  spread  to  other 
lands,  including  at  last  the  United  States.  Now  gymnasiums 
are  attached  to  most  of  our  large  schools  and  to  the  higher  seats 
of  learning.  The  balance  here  may  be  swinging  too  far  to  the 
other  side.  Students,  in  some  cases,  devote  a  disproportionate 
part  of  their  time  to  athletics.  There  are  signs  already,  how- 
ever, that  the  presiding  powers  of  such  institutions  are  recogniz- 
ing the  evil.  Already  the  word  has  gone  forth  from  them  that 
athletics  are  primarily  for  the  general  body  of  students,  not  for 
the  development  of  a  small  number  of  elite  capable  of  making 
grand-stand  plays  before  the  world. 

The  English,  constitutionally  slow  in  adopting  anything, 
took  long  to  perceive  the  necessity  of  gymnastic  courses  of  in- 
struction. True,  many  of  them  are  devoted  to  field  sports  and 
outdoor  games,  and  nothing  can  be  better  than  these  for  physical 
development ;  but  these  do  not  take  in  a  whole  nation ;  at  most, 
those  who  can  follow  them  are  all  but  a  privileged  class.  At 
one  time,  not  long  since,  schoolboy  sports  were  almost  unknown 
even  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  the  French  boy  particularly 
scarcely  knowing  anything  of  rough,  boyish  contests. 

Children  who  are  early  driven  by  poverty  to  work,  and  the 
adult  inhabitants  of  very  large  cities,  have  but  little  opportunity 
for  outdoor  exercise  except  in  walking  to  and  from  the  scene 
of  their  labors.  Pedestrianism  even  now  is  largely  neglected 
in  the  United  States.  Business  men  ride  to  their  offices  in  the 
street-cars,  reading  the  morning  newspaper  on  the  way.  Shop- 
girls often  live  at  so  great  a  distance  from  the  places  where  they 
work  that  the  use  of  cars  is  with  them  a  necessity.  The  fact  is 
unfortunate.  These  girls  especially  need  to  draw  fresh  air  into 
their  lungs,  instead  of  inhaling  the  impure  air  of  crowded  street- 
cars before  and  after  they  spend  a  day  in  the  pent-up  surround- 
ings even  of  the  best  ventilated  store.  What  a  pity  it  is  that  all 


EDUCATION    OF    THE   BODY.  153 

the  world  has  not  at  beck  and  call  what  is  healthful  and  delight- 
ful. And  yet,  so  irrationally  are  we  constituted  that  there  are 
thousands  who  could  have  this  at  their  pleasure  who  do  not 
take  advantage  of  their  freedom.  Cowper,  in  two  of  his  compo- 
sitions, "The  Winter  Morning  Walk"  and  "The  Winter  Walk 
at  Noon,"  speaks  charmingly  of  pedestrianism.  Charles  Dickens, 
a  great  pedestrian,  who  did  not  hesitate  to  walk  many  miles  at  a 
fast  clip,  writes  thus  of  a  winter  walk:  "Better  than  a  gig! 
When  were  travellers  by  wheels  and  hoofs  seen  with  such  red- 
hot  cheeks  as  those?  When  were  they  so  good-humoredly  and 
merrily  bloused?  When  did  their  laughter  ring  upon  the  air 
as  they  turned  them  round,  what  time  the  stronger  gusts  came 
sweeping  up ;  and,  facing  round  again  as  they  passed  by,  dashed 
on  in  such  a  glow  of  ruddy  health  as  nothing  could  keep  pace 
with  but  the  high  spirits  it  engendered?  Better  than  the  gig! 
Why,  here  is  a  man  in  a  gig  coming  the  same  way  now.  Look 
at  him  as  he  passes  his  whip  into  his  left  hand,  chafes  his 
numbed  fingers  on  his  granite  leg,  and  beats  those  marble  toes 
of  his  upon  the  footboard.  Ha,  ha,  ha!  Who  would  exchange 
this  rapid  hurry  of  the  blood  for  yonder  stagnant  misery,  though 
its  pace  were  twenty  miles  for  one  ?" 

It  is  quite  customary  among  English  professional  men  to 
spend  their  holidays  in  walking  and  climbing  tours  among 
mountains.  Many  a  hard-worked  London  physician  or  lawyer 
recovers  in  a  few  days  among  the  mountains,  the  tone  of  health 
which  had  been  impaired  by  arduous  labors  in  his  daily  round  of 
life.  The  same  advantage  may  be  secured  in  many  parts  of  our 
own  country.  A  few  hours'  journey  by  rail  will  carry  a  traveler 
to  a  mountainous  region  where  he  may  make  his  explorations 
afoot  in  search  of  pleasure  and  health.  Delightful  excursions 
may  be  made  among  the  hills  in  the  summer  season.  In  its  sea- 
son, he  may  diversify  his  trip  by  trout-fishing  in  mountain 
streams.  It  is,  however,  only  by  accustoming  himself,  by  easy 
degrees,  to  unwonted  exercise,  that  the  unused  citizen  beyond 
middle  age  can  derive  the  indubitable  benefit  to  be  found  in 


154  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

exercise  among  the  mountains.  Not  only,  with  due  precaution, 
will  his  flabby  muscles  be  made  firm  and  strong,  but  his  breath- 
ing power  will  be  improved.  Deep  draughts  of  pure  air  are 
inhaled,  the  heart  is  invigorated,  the  action  of  the  liver  stimu- 
lated, and  the  blood  purified.  Appetite  and  digestion  are  im- 
proved, and  nervous  irritability  subsides.  The  skin  becomes  clear 
and  regains  the  bloom  of  health.  The  eyes  become  again  lus- 
trous from  the  potent  rejuvenating  influences  at  work.  Dr. 
Hermann  Weber,  of  London,  states  that  mountain  exercise  has  a 
beneficial  influence  even  on  the  hair,  and  that  the  grayness  of 
many  persons  in  hair  and  beard  has  been  diminished  by  a 
mountain  tour. 

This  kind  of  exercise  is  highly  beneficial  to  those  persons 
who  are  strong  in  constitution  but  are  run  down  in  health  from 
mental  strain.  Positive  invalids  should  never  resort  to  it.  The 
exertion  of  tramping  and  climbing  would  prove  to  them  quite 
injurious.  In  the  early  stages  of  consumption,  when  there  has 
not  been  marked  failure  of  digestion  and  general  decline  of 
health,  such  excursions,  if  prudently  managed  as  to  amount  of 
exercise,  may  arrest  the  disease ;  but  in  its  advanced  stage,  exer- 
tion at  high  elevations  gives  rise  to  haemorrhage  and  accelerates 
the  progress  of  the  disease.  Speaking  generally  of  walking,  it 
should  be  said,  that  it  is  a  common  error  to  believe  that  walking 
before  breakfast  secures  a  good  appetite;  the  reverse  is  more 
likely  to  be  the  case.  What'  this  volume  teaches,  among  other 
things,  is  that  the  body  is  a  machine.  Being  a  machine,  it  needs 
to  be  supplied  with  fuel  for  work.  If  it  be  not  supplied  with 
fuel,  it  will  take  fuel  from  the  body  itself  to  support  the  deploy- 
ment of  muscular  energy.  After  exertion,  moreover,  without 
food,  the  power  of  digestion  is  not  so  good  as  that  which  is 
usual  in  the  particular  individual  who  thus  experiments  upon 
himself. 

To  acquire  and  maintain  health,  no  special  apparatus  is 
necessary  for  the  majority  of  people.  The  exercise  most  readily 
at  every  one's  disposition,  or  at  almost  every  one's,  is  walking. 


EDUCATION    OF  THE   BODY.  155 

Those  persons  who  have  not  been  in  the  habit  of  walking,  and 
those  whose  health  is  infirm,  become  fatigued  in  walking  mod- 
erate distances;  those  who  are  robust  and  are  habituated  to 
walking  can  go  many  miles  afoot  without  fatigue.  Some  thirty 
years  ago,  girls  of  society  took  it  into  their  heads  for  the  first 
time  to  go  with  parties  of  male  escorts  on  long  rambles  in  the 
country.  It  came  to  be  a  fad,  and  as  it  was  pursued  under  the 
influence  of  sexual  attraction,  it  was  done  entirely  without  dis- 
cretion as  to  distance  and  speed  in  walking.  It  seemed  to  die 
at  last  a  natural  death  from  observation  that  the  enthusiasts  were 
doing  themselves  positive  physical  injury.  Were  the  practice 
moderate,  however,  among  members  of  both  sexes,  antf  among 
persons  of  all  ages,  we  should  hear  less  of  loss  of  appetite, 
chronic  dyspepsia,  headache,  neuralgia,  depression  of  spirits, 
sleeplessness,  and  other  ills  which,  if  they  do  not  positively  keep 
people  from  their  usual  avocations,  at  least  seriously  impair 
energy,  productive  power,  and  social  agreeableness.  With  the 
exception  of  avoidance  of  the  direct  rays  of  a  powerful  sun  in 
midsummer,  and  searching  blasts  on  a  wintry  day,  when  the 
thermometer  is  at  its  lowest,  there  is  scarcely  a  time  when  a 
person  could  not  be  benefited  in  health  and  vigor  by  a  lusty 
walk.  Happily,  there  is  now  a  steadily  increasing  apprecia- 
tion among  us  of  the  value  of  exercise.  In  this  country,  in  early 
times,  the  hardships  of  pioneer  life,  the  activities  of  the  chase, 
the  frequent  conflicts  with  Indians,  gave  a  large  amount  of 
physical  training  to  the  male  portion  of  its  settlers.  The  rapid 
growth  of  large  cities  to  which  population  seems  unduly  to  tend, 
the  entire  removal  of  savagery  in  the  remotest  parts  of  the 
United  States,  the  whole  changed  condition  of  the  country, 
have  had  some  effect  upon  the  health  and  vigor  of  many  of  its 
inhabitants. 

It  is  a  conclusive  commentary  upon  the  inadequacy  of  life, 
except  among  the  favored  classes,  to  secure  physical  stamina, 
to  find,  as  we  do,  that  in  lately  recruiting  for  the  British  army, 
it  has  been  found  necessary  to  lower  the  standard  of  physical 


156  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

development.  The  fact  has  awakened  so  much  attention  in 
England  that  attention  has  been  given  to  gymnastic  exercises 
among  enlisted  men.  Mr.  Maclaren,  of  Oxford,  bears  strong 
testimony  to  the  value  of  these  exercises.  Of  a  number  of  non- 
commissioned officers  sent  to  him  to  be  trained  as  teachers  for  the 
British  army,  he  says :  "The  muscular  additions  to  the  arms 
and  shoulders  and  the  expansion  of  the  chest  were  so  great  as  to 
have  absolutely  a  ludicrous  and  embarrassing  result,  for,  before 
the  fourth  month,  several  of  the  men  could  not  get  into  their 
jackets  and  tunics  without  assistance,  and  when  they  had  got 
them  on,  they  could  not  get  them  to  meet  down  the  middle  by 
a  hand's  breadth." 

The  relation  between  systematic  physical  exercise  and  health 
was  perceived  by  the  Greeks,  and  their  most  illustrious  physicians 
habitually  made  use  of  gymnastics  in  the  treatment  of  many 
chronic  disorders.  Knowledge  of  the  relation  has  never  since 
been  entirely  lost  sight  of,  although  in  modern  times,  the  medical 
profession  has  not  employed  this  valuable  method  of  exercise  as 
much,  perhaps,  as  it  ought  to  have  done.  Gymnastics,  in  medi- 
cine, is  a  preventive  rather  than  a  curative  method  of  treatment. 
It  is  better,  of  course,  to  preserve  health  than  to  be  cured  of 
illness.  The  utmost  attention  of  scientific  physicians  is  now 
engaged  upon  the  problem  of  preventing  the  occurrence  and  the 
spread  of  disease.  When  the  body  is  in  full  health,  it  offers 
vigorous  resistance  to  the  occurrence  of  disease.  Were  it  not 
for  this  fact,  human  health  and  life  would  be  more  precarious 
than  it  actually  is.  Low  organisms,  called  in  general  terms 
"microbes,"  are  generating  disease,  that  is,  affording  means  to 
generate  it,  through  their  reception  into  the  human  system  as 
well  as  into  that  of  the  brute  creation.  These  disease  germs 
are,  with  few  exceptions,  members  of  the  vegetable  kingdom. 
Like  higher  members  of  that  kingdom,  they  require  a  certain 
kind  of  soil  in  which  to  develop  their  parasitic  life.  Healthy 
human  tissues  defend  themselves  by  neutralizing  the  power  of 
these  germs,  or  by  eliminating  the  poisonous  products  which 


EDUCATION    OF    THE   BODY.  157 

they  create.  Microbes,  in  themselves,  are  not  dangerous.  They 
are  not  dangerous  as  such.  They  cause  disease  because,  in  their 
rapid  multiplication,  they  elaborate  chemical  substances,  by- 
products, which  are  poisonous.  These  substances,  reaching  the 
blood,  cause  specific  diseases.  Their  poisonous  products  may 
be  regarded  as  analogous  to  those  of  the  Jamestown  weed  (pro- 
nounced "jimson  weed").  They  contain  an  active  poison  which 
produces  specific  symptoms  when  introduced  into  the  human 
body.  The  great  problem  before  the  science  of  medicine  of  to- 
day is,  how,  by  what  means,  to  render  the  human  system  insus- 
ceptible to  infectious  and  contagious  diseases. 

The  present  prevalent  recognition  of  the  relation  between 
health  and  exercise  has  led  to  many  public  institutions  of  learn- 
ing having  a  medical  man  in  charge  of  the  hygienic  and  athletic 
conduct  of  the  pupils.  This  control  answers  several  purposes. 
Such  a  director,  acquainted  with  human  anatomy  and  human 
functions  of  the  body,  can,  besides  recommending  all  that  ap- 
pertains to  ventilation,  bathing,  clothing,  etc.,  so  arrange  for 
exercising,  that  different  groups  of  muscles  shall  be  symmetrically 
developed ;  so  that,  in  the  acquisition  of  strength,  one  part  of  the 
body  shall  not  be  sacrificed  to  another  or  others.  This  medical 
control  is  particularly  valuable  in  schools  for  girls.  A  physician 
is  competent  to  warn  them  against  the  dangers  of  over-exercise, 
and  can  render  immediate  assistance  in  case  of  injury.  The 
excellent  effect  of  athletic  exercises  upon  girls  is  well  illus- 
trated by  the  statistics  of  Amherst  College,  where  daily  exer- 
cise is  a  part  of  the  regular  course,  under  the  direction  of  a 
physician.  Whereas  the  average  annual  loss  of  time  from  sick- 
ness is  from  nineteen  to  twenty  days,  these  girls  lose  only  about 
two  and  one-half  days  during  the  annual  scholastic  term. 

Children  should  be  indulged,  so  far  as  possible,  with  life 
in  the  open  air  from  their  earliest  years.  There  are  but  few  days 
in  the  course  of  a  year  when  even  infants  are  not  better  for 
being  carried  outdoors  for  a  constitutional  walk,  trip  in  a  baby- 
coach,  or  full-blown  carriage  drive.  In  winter,  the  warmest 


158  HEALTH   AND   BEAUTY. 

part  of  the  day  should  be  chosen  for  their  excursions;  in  sum- 
mer, the  coolest.  In  winter,  the  child  should  be  wrapped  up 
warmly;  in  summer,  lightly  clad.  Issuing  from  the  generally 
ill-ventilated  houses  of  the  poor,  these  excursions  are,  for  babies, 
of  inestimable  value.  Their  blood  is  purified,  and  their  resistant 
power  to  disease  increased.  A  child  thus  accustomed  from  its 
earliest  years  to  the  open  air  is  much  less  likely  than  others  to 
be  attacked  by  infantile  disorders.  Children  thus  treated  ac- 
quire a  hardiness  which  was,  perhaps,  somewhat  lacking  in  their 
constitution.  Children  born  to  families  in  which  there  has  been 
exhibited  hereditary  tendency  to  consumption  particularly  need 
this  daily  exposure  to  fresh  air.  As  the  children  increase  in 
age  and  learn  to  walk,  the  length  of  outing  can  be  gradually 
increased. 

Modern  civilization  and  over-anxious  care,  especially  among 
the  well-to-do,  have  rendered  early  life  in  cities  more  precarious 
than  it  should  be  for  children.  Many  mothers,  taking  natural 
pride  and  pleasure  in  seeing  their  little  ones  fond  of  reading 
at  the  earliest  age,  fall  into  the  unfortunate  practice  of  encour- 
aging them  in  this  direction  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  them 
out  of  what  is  called  mischief,  making  sure  of  their  not  soiling 
their  clothes,  of  not  fighting  with  other  children.  Nature,  how- 
ever, has  implanted  in  the  male  disposition,  and  only  in  lesser 
degree  in  the  female  one,  love  of  activity  in  the  open  air.  The 
danger  of  confinement  to  boys  is  less  than  to  girls.  Habits  of 
staying  within  doors  are  soon  learned  by  little  girls,  prompted 
by  fear  of  soiling  clothes  and  avoidance  of  rough  play.  They 
sit  neatly  dressed  at  parlor  windows,  gazing  at  the  obstreperous 
life  of  other  children.  Many  girls  thus  grow  up  in  a  little  house, 
its  shades  well  down  for  fear  of  light  spoiling  the  colors  of  the 
carpet.  Life  for  them  goes  on  with  a  monotony  which  old 
and  decrepit  people  can  endure,  and  even  like,  but  which,  for 
them,  is  a  distinct  violation  of  the  laws  of  nature.  They  grow 
up  puny,  pale,  narrow-chested,  delicate,  and  nervous.  They  all 
have  feeble  appetites  and  are  more  open  to  attack  of  disease  than 


EDUCATION    OF    THE   BODY.  159 

are  other  children,  and  far  less  are  they  capable  of  resisting  its 
consequences. 

All  city  children  should  be  allowed  a  reasonable  degree  of 
liberty  for  play  in  the  open  air ;  in  the  parks,  if  possible ;  if  not 
in  them,  in  the  squares;  and  if  not  in  them,  play  in  the  streets 
is  better  than  none.  So  far  as  danger  to  life  and  limb  in  the 
streets  is  concerned,  it  may  be  said  that,  with  proper  cautionary 
instructions  from  elders,  and  with  the  experience  which  children 
soon  acquire,  there  is  but  a  small  percentage  of  street  acci- 
dents among  them  even  in  our  largest  cities.  Speaking  of  the 
necessity  of  physical  relaxation  for  school-girls,  Professor  Key, 
an  eminent  Swedish  physician  who  has  paid  much  attention  to 
the  health  of  school-children,  writes:  "The  amount  of  work, 
sitting  still,  etc.,  exacted  of  the  girl,  is  not  consistent  with  her 
health  during  her  growing  time.  Without  going  into  particulars 
as  to  the  influences  injurious  to  the  health  of  growing  children, 
which  proceed  from  their  homes  or  may  be  brought  out  in  con- 
nection with  the  school  and  school  work,  it  is  still  manifest  that 
the  burden  of  work  that  children  have  to  bear,  under  the  pres- 
ent school  regulations,  far  exceeds  what  is  permissible,  and  is, 
to  a  large  extent,  responsible  for  the  liability  of  school-children 
to  illness." 

It  is  important  that  gymnastic  and  calisthenic  exercises 
should  be  made  interesting.  If  little  boys  and  girls  are  compelled 
at  set  hours  to  perform  routine  movements,  a  drill  that  does  not 
require  much  attention  or  movement,  the  task,  through  becoming 
monotonous,  is  of  comparatively  little  physical  benefit.  On  the 
other  hand,  very  complex  exercises  are  not  judicious  instruc- 
tion. A  writer  on  the  subject  remarks:  "It  is  obvious  that 
difficult  exercises  cannot  be  recreative.  It  is  not  a  relaxation 
that  the  brain  of  a  child  can  find  in  these  methodical  exercises, 
but  rather  one  lesson  more  added  to  so  many  others.  Among 
the  movements  of  our  gymnastics,  those  which  are  not  hard 
enough  to  discourage  the  child  are  so  destitute  of  interest  that 
they  repel  by  their  monotony To  a  pupil,  pleasure  is 


l6o  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

not  only  a  moral  satisfaction,  it  is  a  hygienic  element  indis- 
pensable to  his  health.  To  impose  on  a  child  exercises  in  which 
he  will  find  no  pleasure  is  more  than  a  want  of  solicitude — 
it  is  an  offence  against  hygiene."  Nothing  can  be  less  attrac- 
tive than  the  scene  of  a  gymnasium,  with  its  various  apparatus, 
looking  like  a  place  of  torture  and  execution.  All  the  more, 
therefore,  should  those  in  charge  of  it  remember  that  it  is  not 
like  the  expanse  of  green  fields  or  watery  surface  that  incites 
to  exercise  in  field-sports  or  boating,  and  for  that  reason  should 
make  what  is  to  be  done  in  it  as  interesting  as  limitations  admit. 

Gymnastic  exercises  for  girls  should  be  carried  on  only 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  strength,  and  as  a  road  to  the  prov- 
ince of  health.  It  is  not  desirable,  even  if  it  were  possible  (and 
it  is  not),  for  young  women  to  be  able  to  rival  their  brothers 
in  physical  ability.  It  is  not  possible  for  them  to  walk  so  far, 
to  run  so  swiftly,  to  throw  heavy  weights,  to  leap  long  distances, 
and  to  lift  great  iron  masses.  The  perfect  physical  condition  that 
belongs  to  their  sex  is  very  much  less  muscularly  than  these 
endowments.  The  moral  side  of  the  matter  is  that  healthy 
girls  make  cheerful  companions,  good  wives,  and  competent 
mothers. 

At  a  recent  French  medical  convention,  Dr.  Martin,  of 
Bordeaux,  read  a  memoir  upon  the  influence  of  physical  exer- 
cise in  preventing  short-sightedness  in  school-children.  He 
called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  benefit  of  gymnastics  ex- 
tends to  every  portion  of  the  body.  Short-sightedness  gener- 
ally appears  first  between  the  ages  of  eight  and  twelve.  Com- 
parison of  observations  made  in  different  countries  demonstrates 
that  the  school  work  of  children  is  the  immediate  cause  of  nu- 
merous cases  of  this  defect  of  vision.  Dr.  Martin  asserts  that 
the  study  of  the  statistics,  together  with  his  personal  investiga- 
tions, has  shown  that  one  of  the  prime  factors  in  the  produc- 
tion of  this  affection  is  an  insufficient  attention  to  physical  cul- 
ture. This  cause,  it  is  almost  needless  to  say,  exists  in  too 
many  schools,  and  especially  in  those  devoted  to  the  education 


EDUCATION    OF   THE   BODY.  l6l 

of  girls.  It  has  been  found  that  short-sighted  children  are 
most  numerous  in  those  countries  where  the  least  number  of 
hours  are  devoted  to  physical  exercise.  Moreover,  the  feebler 
the  constitution  of  the  child,  the  more  liable  it  is  to  acquire 
short-sightedness.  Dr.  Martin  would  prefer  that  children 
should  not  be  taught  to  read  or  write  before  the  age  of  seven, 
and  in  this  opinion  he  will  be  supported  by  the  majority  of 
physicians.  Institutions  for  the  education  of  children  below 
that  age  should  confine  their  instruction  to  physical  culture  and 
oral  communication  of  instruction. 

Boys  and  girls  should,  as  soon  as  possible,  be  taught  to 
swim.  The  exercise  improves  the  lungs,  strengthens  the  muscu- 
lar system,  and  is  the  most  pleasurable  in  existence.  It  is,  be- 
sides, an  accomplishment,  and  more  than  that  too,  in  value,  for 
through  it  there  is  a  stronger  hold  on  personal  life  and  on  the 
lives  of  others.  To  swim  would  be  naturally  possible  to  every- 
one, if  everyone  realized  that  the  human  body  is  lighter  than 
water,  and  thereby  possessed  the  confidence  necessary  to  avoid 
false  movements  that  prevent  staying  above  its  surface.  The 
body  is,  as  is  said,  lighter  than  water;  but  if  a  person  who  is 
no  swimmer  throws  the  arms  and  shoulders  outside  of  it  in 
frantic  efforts  to  escape  sinking,  the  parts  left  in  the  water  are 
unequal  to  supporting  those  left  unsubmerged,  and  the  person 
sinks,  taking  water  into  the  lungs.  Confidence  that  the  water 
will  support  the  body  is  therefore  the  first  requisite  for  the 
person  wishing  to  learn  to  swim.  It  has  happened  occasionally, 
that  some  persons  have,  without  previous  experience,  been  en- 
dowed with  this,  have  entered  the  water,  and  have  swum  with 
ease.  There  was  a  case  of  this  many  years  ago,  where  a  boy 
of  seven  years  of  age,  entering  the  Delaware  where  it  is  nar- 
row, many  miles  above  Philadelphia,  with  his  big  brother  along- 
side of  him,  suddenly  struck  out  and  with  him  swam  across  the 
river.  As  confidence  is  the  first  element  in  learning  to  swim,  one 
cannot  do,  by  way  of  acquiring  it,  better  than  to  follow  Dr. 

Franklin's  instructions  for  learning  to  swim.     He  directs  the 

li 


l62  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

beginner  to  choose  the  clear  water  of  a  gently  sloping  beach  to 
make  the  first  essay.  The  beginner  is  to  walk  out  until  the 
water  is  breast-high  on  him,  then  face  towards  the  shore,  throw 
a  glistening  white  pebble  into  the  wrater  a  few  paces  ahead  of 
him,  and  then  plunge  in  head  first  and  try  to  recover  it.  He  will 
find  so  great  a  resistance  of  the  water  to  his  intention  as  is  well 
calculated  to  give  confidence  in  its  capability  to  support  the 
body.  As  the  learner  knows  that  his  plunge  is  towards  water 
shallower  than  that  whence  he  starts,  he  is  sure  of  incurring  no 
risk,  and  he  thus  acquires  knowledge  in  the  simplest  possible  way 
as  preliminary  to  his  attempts  at  swimming.  Soon  he  will 
learn  with  ease  to  float  and  swim.  All  persons  cannot  hope  to 
reach  perfection  in  the  art.  Length  of  limb  and  great  muscu- 
larity are  obvious  conditions  for  success.  But  there  is  one 
which  never  seems  to  have  been  duly  considered — relative  spe- 
cific gravity.  Specific  gravity  is  the  relation  of  weight  to  bulk. 
The  writer  once  knew  a  man  who,  from  absence  of  adipose 
tissue  and  presence  of  dense  muscular  tissue,  had  so  high  a 
specific  gravity  that  he  could  never  make  one  of  the  best  of 
swimmers  except  for  short  distances.  Swimming  has  now  be- 
come improved,  through  competition,  to  so  high  a  degree  of 
excellence,  there  are  so  many  different  kinds  of  strokes,  that 
the  subject  cannot  be  entered  upon  in  detail  here.  What  is  called 
the  breast-stroke,  in  which  both  arms  sweep  symmetrically  from 
the  shoulders  with  the  palms  of  the  hands  extended,  is  the  in- 
variable stroke  for  the  beginner.  Treading  water,  floating, 
hand-over-hand  strokes  and  others  come  gradually  to  the  as- 
siduous swimmer. 

Young  people  all  have  instinctive  love  for  boating  and  sail- 
ing. The  assumption  is  far  too  common  among  girls  that  even* 
man  can  drive  horses  and  sail  a  boat.  The  disasters  from  this 
conviction  that  ensue  every  year  are  numerous,  especially  in 
sailing.  There  is  nothing  that  requires  more  experience  than 
sailing.  A  man  has  been  known  to  be  sailing  before  the  wind, 
with  his  boom  well  off,  when  he  suddenly  luffed  into  a  creek  and 


EDUCATION    OF    THE   BODY.  163 

knocked  his  girl  companion  overboard  to  drown  by  the  gybing 
of  his  sail.  The  writer  has  seen  drownings  innumerable  along 
the  coast  because  the  men  in  charge  of  boats  did  not  see 
coming  squalls,  or  did  not  know  what  to  do  when  squalls  struck. 
One  might  as  well  have  a  cow  in  the  boat  as  an  unskilled  man 
in  an  emergency.  With  proper  precautions,  however,  for  sail- 
ing and  rowing,  there  is  no  reason  why  girls  should  not  take  part 
in  these  sports.  Canoeing  had  better  be  avoided  by  them,  but 
they  can  properly  indulge  in  rowing,  even  to  the  extent  of  taking 
an  oar  or  a  pair  of  sculls. 

Fishing  is  a  sport  which  has  the  sanction  of  both  the  lazy 
man  and  the  philosopher.  There  are  modes  of  it,  however,  that 
do  not  suit  the  supremely  lazy  man.  Brook-trout  fishing  de- 
mands not  only  patience  and  skill,  but  considerable  exertion. 
The  antiquity  of  fishing  is  attested  by  a  passage  in  the  Book 
of  Isaiah,  where  it  says :  "The  fishes  also  shall  mourn,  and  all 
they  that  cast  angle  into  the  brooks  shall  lament,  and  they  that 
spread  nets  upon  the  water  shall  languish."  The  sport  has  the 
advantage  of  bringing  one  into  close  communication  with  the 
scenes  of  nature.  No  form  of  outdoor  exercise  is  more  enjoyed 
than  this  by  its  votaries.  Many  are  the  books  that  have  been 
written  concerning  the  pleasures  and  the  art  of  angling.  Izaak 
Walton's  "Compleat  Angler"  has  long  been  a  classic  in  English 
literature.  Even  the  celebrated  scientist,  Sir  Humphrey  Davy, 
found  occupation  in  writing  a  book  on  the  gentle  art.  Walton 
extols  the  sport  in  the  following  lines: — 

"Let  them  that  list,  these  pastimes  still  pursue, 
And  on  such  pleasing  fancies  feed  their  fill, 
So  I  the  fields  and  meadows  green  may  view, 
And  daily,  by  fresh  rivers,  walk  at  will 
Among  the  daisies  and  the  violets  blue, 
Red  hyacinth  and  yellow  daffodil, 
Purple  narcissus,  like  the  morning  rays, 
Pale  gander-grass  and  azure  culver-keys." 


164  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

In  winter  frozen  streams  and  ponds  furnish  opportunity  for 
the  very  exhilarating  exercise  of  skating.  Good  skaters  can 
deploy  upon  fine  ice  of  no  great  extension  a  great  variety  of 
movements.  If  a  skater  needs  to  try  his  speed,  he  can  get  many  a 
stretch  of  a  mile  or  more  in  length.  An  interesting  and  highly 
popular  game  on  ice  is  derived  from  Scotland — that  of  "curling." 
It  has  been  introduced  into  Canada  by  Scotchmen  and  there 
warmly  welcomed.  A  space  of  about  forty  yards  long  is  marked 
out  on  the  ice,  having  its  goals,  called  "tees"  at  each  end.  The 
players  are  two  or  four  on  a  side.  Stones  of  from  thirty-five  to 
fifty  pounds  in  weight,  furnished  with  handles,  are  the  projectiles 
used,  two  stones  being  allotted  to  each  player.  The  object  of 
each  player  is  to  hurl  a  stone  over  his  opponent's  goal.  A  stone 
which  is  not  sent  with  sufficient  force  to  reach  a  certain  line  in 
the  rink  is  counted  out  and  removed.  As  stones  gather  near  a 
tee,  the  strife  concentrates,  from  the  fact  that  the  competitors 
endeavor  to  advance  their  missiles  and  to  dislodge  those  of  the 
opposite  side.  Roller-skating  is  also  good  exercise  if  indulged  in 
moderately  in  the  open  air. 

From  time  immemorial  every  race  inhabiting  northern 
countries  has  used  the  sled  for  passengers  and  for"  transporta- 
tion of  goods  on  snow  or  ice.  The  sled  has  always  been  a  popu- 
lar vehicle  with  boys  for  winter  sport,  and  among  young  people 
of  both  sexes,  for  coasting  on  the  snow  down  steep  hills.  This 
practice  pursued  without  due  precaution,  with  the  great  appa- 
ratus fondly  called  the  "double-ripper,"  has  sometimes  led  to 
serious  loss  of  life  and  many  wounds  among  the  occupants  of  a 
double  sled.  A  very  singular  accident  took  place  with  a  double  - 
ripper  some  years  ago.  A  jolly  night  party,  on  the  machine, 
reached  the  foot  of  a  hill  at  the  height  of  their  hilarity,  when 
a  vehicle  turned  suddenly  into  the  end  of  the  street  down  which 
the  slide  ran.  There  was  no  time  or  room  for  avoidance  of 
collision.  The  legs  of  the  steersman  of  the  double-ripper  ran 
through  one  of  the  wheels  of  the  vehicle ;  the  driver,  not  know- 


EDUCATION    OF    THE   BODY.  165 

ing  in  the  darkness  what  was  happening,  whipped  up  his  rear- 
ing horses,  and  the  steersman  of  the  double-ripper  got  off  with 
his  life,  but  with  a  compound  comminuted  fracture  of  one  of  his 
legs. 

Of  late  years  the  "toboggan"  has  been  introduced  to  some 
extent  from  Canada.  The  toboggan  is  simply  a  smoothed 
plank,  not  mounted  on  runners,  and  in  consequence  its  employ- 
ment involves  much  more  bumping  than  does  the  use  of  the 
double-ripper.  This  amusement  causes  an  active  circulation  and 
purification  of  the  blood  through  the  abundance  of  oxygen  with 
which  it  becomes  supplied.  With  proper  precautions,  the  sport 
may  be  advantageously  shared  by  girls.  The  choice  of  a  safe 
place,  free  of  the  presence  of  trees,  free  of  the  presence  of  car- 
riages and  of  travel  of  all  sorts,  skill  in  the  steersman  of  the 
apparatus,  are  the  only  necessary  prerequisites. 

Sleigh-riding  is  a  delightful  pastime,  always  supposing 
that  the  wind  is  not  blowing  a  gale,  and  that  one  is  provided  with 
plenty  of  fur  robes  for  wraps.  The  atmosphere  where  dry  snow 
covers  the  ground  is  very  exhilarating,  to  which  is  added  the 
exhilaration  of  speed,  jingling  sleigh-bells,  and  the  gaiety  of 
social  enjoyment. 

Running  strengthens  the  legs,  invigorates  the  heart,  and 
increases  the  breathing  capacity  of  the  lungs.  It  should,  how- 
ever, be  practiced  with  moderation,  for,  otherwise,  the  lungs  and 
the  spleen  become  engorged  with  blood,  a  stitch  is  felt  in  the 
left  side,  and  a  painful  effort  in  breathing  is  experienced.  The 
heart  may  be  overworked,  and  severe  and  even  fatal  exhaustion 
may  occur  from  running  too  fast  or  too  far.  It  is  a  form  of 
exercise  especially  appropriate  to  youthful  lightness  of  body. 
Children,  however,  who  have  suffered  from  rheumatism,  should 
not  be  allowed  to  run.  Rheumatism  sometimes  causes  disease 
of  the  heart,  and  if  this  has  happened  in  any  case,  violent  exercise 
is  injurious.  The  enormously  increased  rapidity  of  the  circula- 
tion produced  by  running  puts  an  exceedingly  great  strain  upon 
the  heart,  a  strain  which  the  organ  in  a  weakened  condition  may 


1 66  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

not  be  able  to  bear.  For  this  reason,  persons  beyond  middle 
age  who  have  long  ceased  habitually  to  run,  are  injured  by 
running,  as  they  sometimes  do,  to  catch  a  car  or  train.  Run- 
ning is  an  exercise  of  which  boys  are  very  fond,  and  it  enters 
into  many  of  their  games.  When  one  of  them  has  been  early 
used  to  running,  it  is  astonishing  what  powers  of  speed  and 
endurance  can  be  cultivated  in  him.  For  short  races,  a  quick 
start  and  swift  pace  are  allowable,  but  for  long  distances,  the 
pace  held  must,  of  necessity,  be  more  moderate.  Running  with 
a  steady  stride,  or  with  a  "lope,"  Indian  scouts  and  white  cour- 
iers have  sometimes  covered  long  distances  in  an  almost  incred- 
ibly short  space  of  time. 

Wrestling,  among  the  most  ancient  of  sports,  has  steadily 
increased  in  favor  in  the  United  States  for  many  years  past. 
Gibbon,  the  historian,  thus  tells  of  the  first  appearance  of  Max- 
imin,  afterwards  Roman  Emperor:  "About  thirty-two  years 
'before  that  event,  the  Emperor  Severus,  returning  from  an 
Eastern  expedition,  halted  in  Thrace  to  celebrate  with  military 
games  the  birthday  of  his  younger  son,  Gela.  The  country 
flocked  in  crowds  to  behold  their  sovereign,  and  a  young  bar- 
barian, of  gigantic  stature,  earnestly  solicited  in  his  rude  dia- 
lect that  he  might  be  allowed  to  contend  for  the  prize  of  wrest- 
ling. As  the  pride  of  discipline  would  have  been  disgraced  in 
the  overthrow  of  a  Roman  soldier  by  a  Thracian  peasant,  he  was 
matched  with  the  stoutest  followers  of  the  camp,  sixteen  of 
whom  he  successively  laid  on  the  ground.  His  victory  was 
rewarded  by  some  trifling  gifts  and  a  permission  to  enlist  in  the 
troops.  The  next  day  the  happy  barbarian  was  distinguished 
above  a  crowd  of  recruits,  dancing  and  exulting  after  the  fashion 
of  his  country.  As  soon  as  he  perceived  that  he  had  attracted 
the  Emperor's  notice,  he  instantly  ran  up  to  his  horse  and  fol- 
lowed him  on  foot,  without  the  least  appearance  of  fatigue,  in 
a  long  and  rapid  canter.  'Thracian/  said  Severus,  with  aston- 
ishment, 'art  thou  disposed  to  wrestle  after  thy  race?'  'Most 
willingly,  sir,'  replied  the  unwearied  youth;  and  almost  in  a 


EDUCATION    OF    THE   BODY.  167 

breath  overthrew  seven  of  the  strongest  soldiers  in  the  army. 
A  gold  collar  was  the  prize  of  his  matchless  vigor  and  activity, 
and  he  was  immediately  appointed  to  serve  in  the  horseguards 
who  always  attended  on  the  person  of  the  sovereign."  But 
thousands  of  years  before  the 'time  described,  wrestling  had  been 
an  institution  among  the  remotest  people  of  antiquity,  knowledge 
of  whom  has  come  down  to  us. 

There  is  no  pleasanter  outdoor  sport  than  quoits  if,  at  dis- 
posal, the  quoits  themselves  are  neatly,  not  clumsily  made,  the 
soil  is  adapted  to  their  resting  well  when  thrown,  and  the  place 
where  they  are  played  is  in  windless,  pleasant  shade.  The  game 
strengthens  the  wrists  and  exercises  the  faculty  of  judgment  of 
distance.  The  occasional  stoop  to  pick  up  the  quoits  at  the 
goal  at  which  they  have  been  thrown  lends  suppleness  to  the 
body. 

Archery  is  one  of  the  most  elegant  of  sports,  and  has  been 
moderately  revived  within  a  few  years.  It  is  elegant,  because 
the  arrow  can  be  made  to  hit  the  target  with  great  precision, 
the  correct  posture  of  the  archer  is  fine,  and  all  the  details  about 
the  bow,  from  the  yew  of  its  wood  to  the  treatment  and  care  of 
its  string,  are  of  the  most  refined  sort.  There  is,  especially 
among  men  of  Anglo-Saxon  race,  a-  great  deal  of  sentiment 
about  the  bow.  Skill  in  archery  was  once  upon  a  time  the  pride 
of  England,  when  by  its  means  she  won  famous  battles.  Since 
1844  the  sport  has  become  increasingly  popular.  It  culti- 
vates grace  and  strengthens  the  muscles  of  the  arms  and  chest, 
developing  capacity  for  judgment  of  distance  and  effects  of 
light  and  shade  and  wind.  Nothing  can  be  more  charming,  too, 
than  a  scene  of  archery  on  the  greensward,  surrounded  by 
groves,  and  embellished  with  the  movements  of  members  of 
both  sexes  gaily  apparelled  and  moving  or  standing  posed  in 
groups,  or  as  single  figures  shooting  at  the  targets  of  the  field. 
An  able  English  advocate  of  the  sport,  Mr.  Horace  A.  Ford,  says 
that  "there  is  no  exercise  more  healthy  or  more  rational,  or 
which  returns  more  true  and  genuine  qualification  to  the  man 


1 68  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

who  practices  it."  He  adds  that,  "as  an  exercise  for  ladies,  it 
is  advantageous  from  the  fact  of  its  being  general  and  equal 
without  being  violent — calling  the  faculties,  both  of  mind  and 
body,  into  gentle  and  healthful  play,  yet  oppressing  none — withal 
most  elegant  and  graceful."  George  Eliot  mentions  the  grace- 
fulness of  the  archer  where  she  says:  "Who  can  deny  that 
bows  and  arrows  are  among  the  prettiest  weapons  in  the  world 
for  feminine  forms  to  play  with?  They  prompt  attitudes  full 
of  grace  and  power,  where  that  fine  concentration  of  energy  seen 
in  all  marksmanship  is  freed  from  associations  of  bloodshed." 
Bows  for  women's  use  are  made  lighter  and  somewhat  shorter 
than  those  for  men,  with  arrows  proportionately  shorter.  The 
tremendous  power  with  which  an  arrow  can  be  shot  from  a  bow 
used  to  be  illustrated  in  the  buffalo  (bison)  hunts  of  North 
American  Indians.  Riding  up  swiftly  to  close  range  with  one 
of  these  animals,  an  Indian  would  bury  his  arrow  to  its  feather 
in  the  body  of  the  game. 

Croquet  and  lawn-tennis  are  games  sufficiently  mild  to  be 
played  with  pleasure  and  advantage  in  our  summer  season.  But 
even  they  are  too  strenuous  when  the  quicksilver  of  the 
thermometer  ranges  near  ninety  degrees. 

In  this  country,  the  so-called  American  game^of  base-ball, 
which  is  really  a  development  of  the  game  of  town-ball  which 
we  inherited  from  the  English,  has  become,  in  its  professional 
and  some  other  ranks,  a  pastime  attended  with  considerable 
risk,  the  damage  of  sprains  and  dislocations,  and  even  of  an 
occasional  death.  The  hardness  of  the  balls,  the  force  with 
which  they  are  pitched  and  batted,  bring  it  about  that  not  even 
the  partial  armor  worn  by  the  catcher  or  the  swiftness  of  foot 
of  the  runner  can  guarantee  them  against  injury.  The  spec- 
tacle of  the  base-ball  field  with  two  fine  teams  pitted  against  one 
another  is  the  most  popular  of  any  in  America,  so  far  as  numer- 
ical attendance  can  witness  to  the  supposition.  It  may  be,  how- 
ever, that  the  higher  prices  charged  for  entrance  to  a  first-rate 
game  of  college  foot-ball  give  undue  prominence  to  popular 


EDUCATION    OF    THE   BODY.  169 

love  of  base-ball.  Foot-ball,  as  now  scientifically  played,  whether 
in  America  or  England,  develops  strength,  skill,  and  courage  in 
the  course  of  the  training  indispensable  to  prominence  in  the 
sport.  The  eager  rivalry  among  teams  led  at  last  to  an  amount 
of  brutality  in  its  conduct  that  has  called  for  and  been  answered 
by  some  tentative  measures  for  amelioration  of .  the  severity 
of  the  game. 

The  game  of  golf,  once  peculiar  to  Scotland,  has  now  been 
largely  adopted  in  the  United  States.  The  field  should  be  of 
stubbly  grass,  thrown  up  here  and  there  into  little  hillocks, 
known  in  the  language  of  the  game  as  "hazards,"  which  are 
to  be  avoided.  A  "round"  of  holes  of  about  four  inches  in 
width,  and  of  slight  depth,  is  dug  in  the  ground  from  one  hun- 
dred to  three  hundred  yards  apart.  The  aim  consists  in  seek- 
ing to  drive  a  ball,  with  clubs  variously  shaped  as  to  their  ends, 
into  these  holes,  with  the  fewest  number  of  strokes.  From  six 
to  twelve  differently  pointed  kinds  of  clubs  are  used  for  the 
exigences  of  position  on  the  ground,  players  being  accompanied 
by  attendant-boys  known  as  "caddies,"  to  serve,  at  a  moment's 
notice,  the  particular  kind  of  club  needed.  The  game  is  suitable 
for  persons  of  all  ages  and  of  both  sexes.  Its  need  it  skill  rather 
than  strength,  although  the  possession  of  a  certain  fair  amount 
of  strength  is  indispensable. 

Bicycling,  which  began  with  sudden  and  enormous  public 
favor,  fell  as  rapidly  into  disuse.  The  fact  is  one  of  the  most  sur- 
prising among  human  vagaries.  The  exercise  brings  into  action 
the  muscles  of  the  trunk  of  the  body  and  its  lower  limbs.  It 
takes  the  riders  generally  into  the  country  air.  Considering 
that  it  stimulates  the  action  of  the  lungs,  and  therefore  exer- 
cises beneficial  influence  on  the  composition  of  the  blood,  and  has 
all  the  pleasurable  accompaniment  that  can  attend  any  exercise, 
it  is  a  pity  that  it  should  have  been  so  generally  relinquished, 
for  it  increases  not  only  active  circulation,  but  promotes  also  the 
secretions  of  the  body  and  improves  the  appetite  and  digestion. 
In  the  case  of  persons  spare  in  flesh,  it  increases  weight,  while 


HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

on  the  other  hand,  it  is  excellent  for  reducing  corpulence.  The 
exercise,  moreover,  constitutes  an  admirable  education  of  the 
senses  in  judgment  of  speed,  distance,  and  readiness  of  action. 
The  exact  balance  of  the  body,  the  brisk  movement,  the  pure 
air,  the  pleasing  scenes  through  which  the  rider  may  pass,  excite 
cheerful  thought.  The  sport  may  confidently  be  recommended 
to  those  who  suffer  from  dyspepsia,  gout,  rheumatism,  nervous- 
ness, and  to  those  who  are  threatened  with  consumption.  As 
every  practice  may  be  abused,  it  may  be  well  to  add  that  riders 
should  not  throw  themselves  forward  on  the  bicycle-seat.  Back- 
ward projection  of  the  spinal  column  and  stoop-shouldered 
positions  are  not  associated  with  the  full  benefit  of  any  exer- 
cise. Before  bicycling  came  to  an  abrupt  stop,  what  was  recog- 
nized as  "the  bicycle  stoop"  was  known  by  all  scientific  men 
to  be  injurious.  The  rider  should  sit  easily  erect,  and  thus 
present  an  appearance,  not  only  of  good  athletic  knowledge, 
.but  of  graceful  pose. 

Horseback  exercise  is  an  excellent  preservative  of  health, 
and  one  of  the  most  delightful  in  sensation  of  any  in  existence. 
By  it,  the  circulation  is  stimulated,  the  breathing  deepened,  the 
action  of  various  glands,  especially  that  of  the  liver,  promoted, 
the  appetite  and  digestion  improved.  Besides  all  this,  the  ac- 
quisition of  the  art  of  horsemanship  is  valuable  training  of  skill 
and  courage,  and  full  of  exquisite  pleasure  of  being  in  touch 
with  a  docile  and  intelligent  animal.  It  is  an  old-time  homely 
saying,  that  "the  outside  of  a  horse  is  good  for  the  inside  of  a 
man."  It  is  an  exercise  appropriate  to  almost  every  age  and  to 
either  sex.  Children  learn  the  art  of  riding  with  the  greatest 
ease.  In  fact,  the  best  riders  are  always  those  who  have  ac- 
quired the  art  in  early  youth.  Persons  who  spend  most  of  their 
lives  in  sedentary  occupations  find  in  horseback  riding  one  of 
the  most  charming  diversions.  Of  all  delightful  experiences 
of  it  the  first,  by  all  odds,  is  where  a  party  of  ladies  and  gentle- 
men form  a  cavalcade,  and  as  the  cool  of  the  afternoon  ap- 
proaches, on  a  summer's  day,  or  earlier  on  an  autumn  one,  when 


EDUCATION    OF    THE   BODY.  1^1 

leaves  are  falling,  start  forth  together  for  a  ten-mile  ramble 
at  walk,  trot,  canter,  gallop,  through  the  wood-roads  and  open 
lands  of  a  beautiful  country  whose  landscape  is  ever  changing 
to  their  view  as  they  ride  on  pleasantly  with  the  clatter  of  hoofs, 
whinnying  horses,  and  pleasant  conversation. 

Polo  has  been  introduced  into  this  country  from  India. 
The  participants  in  the  game,  mounted  on  ponies,  vary  from 
three  to  six  on  a  side.  Each  player  has  a  stick  four  feet  long 
with  a  cross-piece  at  the  end.  The  object  is  to  drive  the  ball 
through  the  goal  of  the  opponents.  Each  goal  is  eight  yards 
in  width,  and  the  two  goals  not  less  than  two  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  apart.  To  begin,  each  side  is  stationed  behind  its  goal- 
posts. One  player  of  each  side  acts  as  goal-keeper.  At  a  signal, 
every  player  strives  to  drive  the  ball  towards  his  opponent's 
goal.  A  game  lasts  for  an  hour  and  ten  minutes,  with  an  inter- 
val of  five  minutes  after  each  twenty  minutes  of  play. 

Coaching,  in  the  primitive  condition  of  the  United  States, 
when  it  was  the  chief  mode  of  traveling,  was  at  the  same  time 
a  delightful  pastime.  Men  still"  living  remember  with  pleasure 
the  delights  of  a  two-days  trip  in  frosty  weather,  and  even  when 
snow  covered  the  ground,  when  they  used  to  find  helpful  and 
pleasant  companionship,  stop  at  the  end  of  a  stage  at  a  country 
inn,  drink  a  glass  of  hot  whisky-punch,  and  all  in  a  glow  resume 
their  seats  with  continued  animation  and  enjoyment.  The  pres- 
ent renewal  of  coaching  in  a  fashionable  form  has  none  of  the 
old  romantic  elements  which  formerly  belonged  to  that  mode  of 
travel.  It  is  a  pinchbeck  imitation  of  the  real  thing,  without  a 
spice  of  the  various  elements  that  made  old-time  coaching  so 
charming — the  queer  people  one  met,  the  queer  scenes  one  saw, 
the  bustle,  the  whole  business  of  that  special  phase  of  life.  One 
cannot  wonder  that  Dickens  and  Thackeray,  fondly  recalling  the 
old-fashioned  stage-coach  of  England,  should  have  sung  its 
praises  with  enthusiasm.  In  Dickens's  "Martin  Chuzzlewit," 
Tom  Pinch  journeys  to  London.  Thus  the  spirited  description 
of  that  trip  goes:  The  coachman  "did  things  with  his  hat 


172  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

which  nothing  but  an  unlimited  knowledge  of  horses  and  the 
wildest  freedom  of  the  road  could  ever  have  made  him  perfect 

in The  guard,  too !  Seventy  breezy  miles  a  day  were 

written  in  his  very  whiskers.  His  manners  were  a  canter;  his 
conversation  a  round-trot.  He  was  a  fast  coach  upon  a  down- 
hill turnpike  road;  he  was  all  pace.  A  wagon  couldn't  have 
moved  slowly  with  that  guard  and  his  key-bugle  on  top  of  it." 
In  Dickens's  "Tale  of  Two  Cities"  a  night  journey  from  London 
to  Dover  is  sketched.  Dickens  says:  "The  Dover  mail  was 
in  its  usual  genial  position,  that  the  guard  suspected  the  pass- 
engers, the  passengers  suspected  one  another  and  the  guard; 
they  all  suspected  everybody  else,  and  the  coachman  was  sure 
of  nothing  but  the  horses;  as  to  which  cattle  he  could  with 
a  clear  conscience  have  taken  his  oath  on  the  two  Testaments, 
that  they  were  not  fit  for  the  journey."  This  refers  to  the  times 
when  highwaymen  still  infested  the  roads.  Thackeray,  in  his 
very  last,  but  unfinished  work,  tells  of  a  little  boy  who  shot  a 
highwayman  in  the  face. 

Some  of  the  exercises  discussed  develop  strength  rather  than 
grace.  They  are,  however,  the  basis  of  grace.  They  harmonize 
the  muscular  system,  through  establishment  of  the  nervous  sys- 
tem. Some  exercises  are  from  their  character  especially  pro- 
motive  of  grace.  The  poet  was  right  when  he  said  they  move 
easiest  who  have  learned  to  dance.  The  bulky  athlete  is  at  a 
disadvantage  in  a  ball-room  in  the  matter  of  grace  unless  he  has 
learned  to  dance.  Movements  of  grace  are  more  curved  and 
rhythmical  than  other  movements  are.  The  music  that  accom- 
panies dancing  ensures  their  being  rythmical,  and  their  cur- 
vilinear character  is  promoted  by  the  motions  necessary  to  per- 
forming the  steps  of  the  dance.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  a 
man's  movements  shall  be  so  graceful  as  those  that  are  pos- 
sible to  a  well-formed  woman,  for  the  reason  that  her  anatomical 
structure  prescribes  to  her  movements  more  curvilinear  lines 
than  a  man's  does. 

Athletics  have  a  good  effect  upon  disposition  and  mental 


EDUCATION   OF   THE   BODY.  173 

faculties.  Among  the  Romans  was  realized  the  advantage  of 
the  mens  sana  in  corpore  sano,  the  healthy  mind  in  the  healthy 
body.  As  a  general  rule,  strong  men  are  of  equable  disposition. 
Aware  of  their  powers,  they  are  not  generally  prone  to  offence 
and  picking  quarrels.  Mental  power  is  undoubtedly  increased 
by  physical  exercise.  This  has  been  conclusively  proved  by 
investigation  among  large  bodies  of  students  in  many  colleges. 
It  is  only  a  false  seeming,  generally,  when  this  looks  untrue. 
The  boy  who  loves  active  exertion,  the  student  of  more  advanced 
years,  may  sometimes  too  much  neglect  his  studies  in  favor  of  his 
athletic  predilections,  and  thus  show  for  a  time  at  a  disadvantage. 
But  many  is  the  case  which  life  witnesses  where  the  close  stu- 
dent seems  to  have  left  in  himself  no  reserve  for  life,  and  the  for- 
merly apparently  unstudious  and  neglectful  youth  eventually 
comes  to  the  front  with  a  spirit  for  acquisition  of  knowledge  that 
never  abates.  Enthusiasts  in  athletics  generally  have  that  cast  of 
mind  which  inclines  them  to  active  rather  than  to  contemplative 
life.  It  comes  about  that  the  student  may  need  to  be  driven  to 
the  gymnasium,  and  the  gymnast  to  his  books.  The  same  per- 
son is  rarely  equally  at  home  in  both  spheres.  The  qualities 
acquired  by  athleticism  are  developed  by  physical  exercise,  not 
in  the  class-room.  With  these  qualities,  the  athlete  does  not  lack 
determination  and  patience  for  the  acquisition  of  knowledge 
to  stand  him  in  stead  for  active  life. 

There  is  one  exercise  which  is  important  to  every  young 
man  of  condition,  that  which  is  known  as  the  art  of  self-defence 
— boxing.  As  the  possession  of  the  young  man  of  condition,  it 
is  not  in  danger  of  becoming  the  art  of  aggression,  to  which  low 
level  it  falls  in  the  hands  of  the  rowdy,  from  whom,  through 
life,  at  any  moment,  he  may  be  called  upon  to  defend  himself  or 
others  by  his  skill.  Police  protection  is  not  always  at  hand  to 
succor  persons  of  either  sex  insulted  or  assaulted  by  the  human 
brute.  There  is  nothing  more  delightful  than  to  see  such  an 
one,  confident  in  his  strength  and  ferocity,  polished  off  by  a 
gentlemanly,  skilled  antagonist. 


HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

Fencing,  too,  is  an  art  which  every  gentleman  and  woman 
should,  if  possible,  acquire.  Many  cases  have  been  known  where 
it,  like  boxing,  proved  of  signal  service  against  unwarranted  ag- 
gression. A  man  skilled  in  fencing  or  single-stick  is  not  at  a  dis- 
advantage if  he  has  nothing  but  a  cane  or  a  folded  umbrella 
to  defend  himself  and  injure  his  adversary.  Fencing  with 
masks,  foils,  and  padded  breastplates,  is  a  perfectly  safe  amuse- 
ment, and  cultivates  grace,  quickness  of  hand,  and  agility  on  the 
feet.  The  calf  of  the  left  leg  is  the  only  part  that  becomes 
unduly  enlarged  from  the  exercise.  This  is  because  the  right 
leg  is  the  one  that  is  advanced  in  the  attitude  of  fencing,  its 
foot  resting  lightly  on  the  ground,  ready  to  retreat  or  press  for- 
ward in  the  encounter,  while  the  left  leg  bears  most  of  the  weight 
of  the  body,  and  the  brunt  of  its  increase  when  it  recoils  or 
retreats.  A  persistent  fencer,  in  the  times  when  small-clothes 
were  worn  (sometimes  called  knee-breeches),  had  the  calf  of 
his  left  leg  so  much  increased  beyond  the  size  of  the  right  one, 
that  he  was  obliged  to  wear  inside  the  stocking  of  the  right  leg 
a  little  pad  to  make  the  two  calves  symmetrical.  This  same 
gentleman,  who  had  been  a  West  Pointer  in  his  youth,  was 
one  of  two  chosen  from  among  the  cadets  to  exhibit,  on  the 
occasion  of  a  visit  by  the  President,  the  expertness  of  the  Mili- 
tary Academy's  best  fencing.  The  night  before  the  encounter, 
of  which  he  had  been  notified  that  he  would  be  one  of  the  prin- 
cipals, he  had  the  horrible  dream  that,  in  the  exhibition,  his  foil 
had  broken  off  short,  and  that  he  had  stabbed  his  opponent  to 
the  heart.  Sure  enough,  next  day,  in  the  height  of  the  encounter, 
it  broke  in  the  middle,  but  the  rest  of  the  dream  did  not  come 
true.  Had  it  done  so,  it  would  have  gone  on  record,  as  many 
coincidences  do,  as  following  a  revelation ;  although,  when 
nothing  happens,  the  record,  as  far  as  it  has  gone,  is  generally 
forgotten. 

Unless  the  features  are  malformed,  or  unless  they  exhibit 
signs  of  dissipation,  a  man's  expression  is  always  passable.  It 
is  chiefly  requisite  that  he  shall  look,  as  a  man,  manly.  Beauty 


EDUCATION    OF   THE    BODY.  175 

of  feature  seems  almost  incompatible  with  manly  expression. 
Beauty  of  form  in  man  is  another  matter,  and  with  that  he  is 
endowed,  in  his  type,  as  sumptuously  as  is  woman  in  hers. 
Something  effeminate  lurks  in  the  countenance  of  a  man  whose 
features  are  moulded  with  extreme  precision.  With  him,  as  to 
bodily  form,  the  highest  attributes  of  it  should  represent  agility 
and  strength. 

The  prime  object  of  physical  education  for  the  female 
sex  is  the  promotion  of  health  and  grace.  As  has  been  pre- 
viously remarked,  the  possession  by  it  of  great  strength  is 
not  desirable,  nor  possible.  Its  exercises  should  be  in  the 
form  of  calisthenics,  the  mild  form  of  gymnastics.  Numerous 
movements  have  been  devised  by  which  Indian  clubs  and  wands 
can  be  used  to  great  advantage;  nor  should  it  be  debarred 
from  taking  in  a  lighter  form  some  of  the  exercises  for  which 
the  gymnasium  has  been  instituted  for  the  opposite  sex.  Mem- 
bers of  the  female  sex  should  daily  walk,  almost  irrespectively  of 
the  condition  of  the  weather.  A  light  fall  of  snow  should  be  no 
obstacle  to  their  taking  this  kind  of  exercise.  Persons  brought 
up  with  this  kind  of  regimen  rarely  take  cold.  Colds  are  gen- 
erally caught  in  the  house  from  draughts;  and  susceptibility 
to  them  is  always  increased  by  living  in  impure  air. 

A  system  of  calisthenics  has,  of  late  years,  been  introduced, 
known  as  the  "Delsarte  movements."  Many  women  and  girls  in 
this  country  have  attended  classes  in  which  this  method  was 
taught  and  have  received  distinct  benefit  from  it.  The  aim  of 
the  system,  however,  is  not  principally  for  the  improvement  of 
health,  but  for  that  of  grace.  It  is  impossible,  however,  that  in 
following  it,  the  exercises  should  not  be  promotive  of  health. 
The  inspiration  that  led  to  the  invention  of  the  system  was  artis- 
tic. The  Delsartian  exercises  are  but  a  portion  of  a  doctrine 
relating  to  art. 

Francois  Delsarte  was  a  musician,  a  teacher  of  oratory  and 
music,  in  Paris.  He  had  originally  contemplated  going  upon 
the  operatic  stage,  but,  owing  to  some  impairment  in  his  voice, 


176  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

was  obliged  to  relinquish  that  ambition.  As  an  instructor,  he 
concerned  himself  in  the  production  and  management  of  the  voice 
of  his  pupils.  In  the  course  of  this,  his  mind  was  led  from  con- 
sideration of  the  physical  to  the  intellectual  and  moral  phases  of 
the  subject.  He  thought  that  a  pure,  melodious  voice  for  singing 
or  speaking  is  not  enough  for  artistic  requirement.  Tone  and 
modulation,  he  thought,  must  be  superadded  in  order  fully  to 
express  thought  and  emotion.  Gestures,  too,  were  used  by  him 
to  express  mental  states.  The  association  of  emotion  and  cer- 
tain muscular  movements  (gestures,  in  a  word)  received  great 
attention  from  him.  Himself  endowed  with  histrionic  talent,  and 
constantly  engaged  in  training  pupils  for  the  stage,  Delsarte  was, 
of  course,  well  fitted  for  an  instructor  in  gesticulation.  He  was 
constantly  engaged  in  tracing  the  connection  between  thought 
or  emotion  and  muscular  movement.  In  this  attempt  he  reached 
a  number  of  conclusions  which  he  believed  to  be  fundamental 
laws.  With  this  aspect  of  his  studies  we  have  here  nothing 
practically  to  do.  It  is  mentioned  parenthetically  as  one  of  pos- 
sible interest  to  the  reader.  Whether  his  views  are  of  value 
in  instructing  in  oratory  and  music  can  be  decided  only  by  per- 
sons conversant  with  those  arts. 

The  calisthenic  system  taught  under  the  name  of  "Del- 
sarte movements"  consists  of  a  variety  of  motions  of  a 
rhythmical  sort,  by  which  the  joints  and  muscles  of  the  body 
are  systematically  brought  into  play.  The  system  has,  as  its 
basis,  a  sort  of  drill,  which  may  or  may  not  be  executed  to  the 
accompaniment  of  music.  The  muscles  governing  the  action  of 
the  hands,  wrists,  elbows,  shoulders,  and  the  corresponding  por- 
tions of  the  legs,  the  trunk  of  the  body  and  the  neck,  are  all 
exercised.  Such  motions  necessarily  promote  flexibility,  grace, 
and  strength  of  the  parts,  and  are  therefore  conducive  to  health. 

It  is  the  pampered  kind  of  people,  who  live  in  warmed, 
stuffy  rooms,  take  little  exercise,  hug  the  fire,  cannot  go  out 
unless  the  weather  is  fine,  live  in  dread  of  a  draught,  who  are 
those  that  take  cold,  and  with  all  their  coddling  of  themselves, 


EDUCATION    OF    THE    BODY.  177 

may  be  said  to  lead  a  miserable  existence.  Their  blood  is 
always  charged  with  impurities,  their  appetite  and  digestion  and 
themselves  are  weak.  They  suffer  from  neuralgia  and  a  host  of 
real  and  imaginary  physical  ills.  An  accidental  exposure  to  the 
weather,  of  such  persons,  is  often  followed  by  some  ailment, 
and  is  taken  as  proof  positive  that  their  indoor  habits  had 
been  imprudently  violated.  The  fact  is  that  those  habits 
should  be  thrown  aside.  The  valetudinarians  should  be  driven 
or  coaxed  into  the  open  air,  where  plenty  of  oxygen  can  be 
breathed,  or  else  chronic  invalidism  will  be  the  consequence  of 
their  cherished  ways  of  life,  a  drooping,  neutral  condition  of 
existence  fatal  to  their  personal  enjoyment  and  to  the  comfort 
of  all  around  them.  Ailments  which  in  the  beginning  are 
simply  indicative  of  depressed  vitality  may  gradually  develop 
into  organic  disease;  that  is,  into  maladies  affecting  more  or 
less  alteration  in  the  structure  of  organs  of  the  body. 

A  formidable  array  of  ailments  can,  in  many  cases,  be 
avoided  by  judicious  physical  training.  If  a  child,  for  instance, 
early  in  life  manifests  delicacy  of  constitution,  or  comes  of  a 
stock  in  which  rickets,  scrofula,  consumption,  or  some  other 
form  of  general  disease  is  prevalent,  there  is  every  reason  that 
his  or  her  physical  training  should  receive  prompt  attention. 
Care  should  be  devoted  at  once  by  parents  or  guardians,  through 
physicians,  to  such  weaklings.  Judicious  methods  may  improve 
the  tissues,  strengthen  the  constitution,  and  prolong  life.  When 
strength  declines  without  the  presence  of  any  apparent  specific 
disease,  when  the  appetite  grows  feeble,  and  the  cheeks  pale  it 
is  time  to  begin  a  course  of  exercises;  not  exercise  in  an  in- 
closed space,  but,  best  of  all,  in  fresh  air  and  sunshine. 

One  of  the  most  satisfactory  kinds  of  mild  exercise  is 
dancing.  Of  course  it  can  be  made  violent  and  be  prolonged 
to  exhaustion,  but  it  can  also  be  made,  with  intervals  of  rest, 
and  with  easy  movements,  as  little  strenuous  as  any  exercise 
can  possibly  be.  This  exercise  is  at  the  same  time  an  art  and 
an  amusement.  It  has  prevailed  from  the  earliest  times  of  which 

12 


J78  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

we  have  any  account  in  history,  been  cultivated  by  all  peoples, 
civilized,  barbarous,  and  savage.  Conducted,  as  it  is  among 
civilized  nations  of  modern  times,  with  the  accompaniment  of 
music,  it  makes  a  graceful  spectacle  and  forms  one  of  the  chief 
attractions  of  parties  for  the  youth  of  both  sexes.  When  in- 
dulged in  with  proper  precautions  against  fatigue  and  against 
taking  cold  when  overheated,  it  is  an  admirable  exercise,  pro- 
motive  not  only  of  muscular  improvement  and  grace  of  bear- 
ing, but  of  high  animal  enjoyment.  Those,  however,  known 
to  have  weakness  or  disease  of  the  heart  should  scrupulously 
avoid  dancing. 

The  male  portion  of  country  people,  who  till  the  ground, 
rarely  need  special  exercise.  With  their  women  folks  it  is  very 
different.  It  is  notorious  that,  if  they  do  not  need  exercise, 
their  lives,  as  mistresses  of  farm-houses,  are  not  led  in  a  way 
conducive  to  health.  The  chief  cause  of  this  is  the  unsanitary 
way  in  which  most  farm-houses  are  closed  against  sun  and  air. 
There  is  another  reason,  too,  for  the  conspicuous  difference  in 
health  between  the  farmer's  wife  and  the  farmer  and  his  child- 
ren. The  wife  leads,  as  compared  with  them,  a  life  of  great 
monotony.  Sunday  is  the  husband's  entire  holiday;  but  the 
farmer  and  his  children  also  have  constant  outing ;  the  farmer  in 
his  trips  to  market  and  the  country  store,  and  in  his  cultivation 
of  the  farm  and  chores  about  its  buildings ;  the  children  in  their 
walks  to  and  from  school  and  in  pleasant  intercourse  with  play- 
fellows. There  is  not  on  earth  a  more  imprisoned  being  who  is 
innocent  than  the  av.erage  farmer's  wife. 

A  remarkable  instance  of  the  effect  of  systematic  muscular 
training  has  been  exhibited  in  the  person  of  the  celebrated 
Sandow.  This  man,  a  native  of  Prussia,  came  of  a  family 
which  had  not  been  noted  for  great  physical  development. 
Until  a  few  years  ago,  Sandow  was  rather  slight  in  figure. 
At  about  that  time  he  began  exercising  with  five-pound  dumb- 
bells. The  method  that  he  adopted  for  exercise  consisted  of  his 
endeavor  to  obtain  control  in  increasing  the  strength  of  certain 


EDUCATION    OF   THE   BODY.  179 

groups  of  muscles.  Following  this,  he  subjected  his  body  to 
various  forms  of  exercise,  by  which  not  only  were  the  parts 
selected  for  improvement  benefited,  but  his  whole  body  was 
necessarily  increased  in  strength.  He  became  able  to  perform 
extraordinary  feats,  raising  for  example,  with  one  arm  above 
his  head,  a  weight  of  three  hundred  and  five  pounds.  Recum- 
bent, he  supported  upon  his  chest  and  knees  a  platform  upon 
which  three  trained  horses  stood,  the  whole  weight  supported 
being  twenty-eight  hundred  pounds. 

The  physical  'history  of  Dr.  Winship  illustrates  the  evil 
effects  of  overtraining.  He  was,  as  a  young  man,  of  very  deli- 
cate physique,  and  with  the  notion  of  improving  his  constitu- 
tion, took  systematic  exercise.  In  consequence,  he  gradually 
developed  astonishing  muscular  strength  in  himself.  He  went 
from  one  extreme  to  its  opposite,  from  weakness  to  strength, 
and  died  in  the  prime  of  life.  But  that,  of  itself,  means  noth- 
ing; it  is  not  significant  of  the  fact  that  he  was  injured  by  his 
extreme  exercise.  What  does  show  it  conclusively,  however, 
is  that  on  a  certain  evening  when  he  was  exhibiting  on  the  stage 
his  wonderful  physical  powers,  he  fainted  on  account  of  the 
closeness  of  the  room.  He  had,  in  fact,  sapped  his  vitality  by 
excessive  exercise.  It  is  a  very  common  but  a  very  erroneous 
belief,  that  great  muscular  development  must  be  indicative  of 
health.  But  a  man  may  be,  and  often  is,  muscularly  strong,  but 
organically  weak.  Now,  suppose  that  a  man  is,  by  constitution, 
organically  weak,  undue  amount  of  exercise  makes  him  organ- 
ically weaker.  The  huge  muscles  which  he  produces  by  exer- 
cise are  nourished  by  blood  at  the  expense  of  his  feeble  power 
to  generate  it  to  the  full  extent  of  their  needs.  Even  if  an  athlete 
of  the  sturdiest  frame  and  best  possible  organic  development 
be  concerned,  if  addicted  to  excessive  exercise,  professionally 
or  otherwise,  over  a  long  course  of  years,  his  vitality  is  being 
lowered  all  the  time.  No  finer  athlete  ever  lived  than  Leon 
Javelli,  who  belonged  to  the  celebrated  French  troupe  of  vaude- 
villists  and  acrobats,  known  as  the  Ravels;  but  the  skin  of  his 


l8o  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

face  was  tightly  drawn  on  it,  and  his  expression  in  later  years 
was  that  of  a  death's  head. 

Excessive  gymnastics  sometimes  injuriously  affect  the 
abdominal  cavity.  The  intestinal  tube  is  loosely  attached  to 
the  lower  part  of  the  spinal  column  by  a  broad  membrane  which 
serves  to  support  its  blood-vessels  and  nerves,  and  allows  some 
latitude  of  motion.  In  the  walls  of  the  abdomen  are  left,  in  the 
development  of  the  child  before  birth,  several  openings  for  the 
passage  of  special  structures.  These  openings  are  later  partially 
closed  and  protected,  but  by  a  more  delicate  tissue  than  that 
which  forms  the  chief  part  of  the  abdominal  wall.  This  struc- 
ture prevents  protrusion  of  the  bowel  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances; while  it  protects  the  contents  of  the  openings  from 
compression.  But  violent  muscular  exertion  compresses  the 
comparatively  soft  walls  of  the  abdomen,  as  a  consequence  of 
which  a  loop  of  the  bowel  may  be  forced  into  and  through  one 
of  the  openings.  This  condition  is  known  popularly  as  rupture, 
in  medical  language  as  hernia,  and  is  dangerous.  The  protruded 
part  of  the  bowel  must  be  returned  to  its  habitual  position  and 
a  mechanical  appliance,  called  a  truss,  be  worn  for  an  indefinite 
time,  with  the  object  of  supporting  the  weakened  opening  or 
preventing  recurrence  of  the  injury,  and  in  the  hope  of  finally 
causing  return  of  the  distended  opening  to  its  original  dimen- 
sions. More  and  more  of  the  bowel  may  be  forced  through 
the  membrane  described;  in  some  stress — it  may  be  in  the 
act  of  coughing — is  caught  so  firmly  that  its  circulation  is  im- 
peded. The  almost  inevitable  result  of  this,  unless  relief  is 
obtained  through  a  surgical  operation,  is  a  lingering  death  ac- 
companied with  great  suffering. 

It  occasionally  happens,  even  in  the  case  of  a  strong  and 
healthy  person,  that  a  bone  is  broken  by  the  force  of  muscular 
contraction.  Examples  of  this  kind  are  occasionally  met  with 
by  surgeons  in  persons  engaged  in  performing  feats  of  strength. 
In  some  instances,  the  sufferers  have  been  noted  for  strength  of 
a  high  order.  In  others,  age,  or  some  antecedent  and  perhaps 


EDUCATION    OF    THE   BODY.  l8l 

unsuspected  disease  of  the  bone,  or  general  weakness  of  the 
system,  has  weakened  the  power  of  the  body's  resistance  and  made 
it  unfit  to  resist  violence. 

The  human  organism  was  made  for  activity,  and  only  in 
activity  can  it  find  its  highest  development ;  but  its  energy  must 
not  be  severely  or  too  continuously  sustained.  After  work 
should  come  repose.  The  waste  of  tissue  which  exercise  occa- 
sions can  be  replaced  by  other  tissue  only  if  a  sufficient  amount 
of  rest  be  allowed.  During  sleep,  the  regeneration  of  the  body 
proceeds  uninterruptedly;  without  sleep  it  cannot  take  place, 
except  in  a  relatively  moderate  degree.  Rest,  whether  walking 
or  sleeping,  is  indispensable  to  its  restoration.  Being  only  par- 
tial while  waking,  sleeplessness — what  is  called  insomnia — 
means,  when  continuous,  death.  The  heart  is  popularly  believed 
to  know  no  rest.  It  is  true  that  the  requirement  of  life  renders 
its  constant  action  indispensable,  but  it  has  instants  of  rest  be- 
tween its  pulsations,  and  during  sleep  its  movements  become 
much  slower  than  those  in  the  waking  state. 

The  beauty  of  the  complexion  depends  upon  the  various 
conditions  previously  recited.  Upon  no  one  of  them  does  it 
depend  more  than  upon  exercise.  Active  circulation  of  pure 
blood  communicates  a  charming  color  to  the  cheeks,  a  bloom 
additionally  attractive  because  it  fluctuates  with  the  emotions. 
If,  as  may  happen,  an  actually  rosy  tint  is  not  communicated 
to  the  face  by  exercise,  the  color  is  far  removed  from  the  pale- 
ness and  sometimes  pallor  which  indicate  feeble  health,  if  not 
disease.  The  hue  of  the  skin  is  better  distinguished  when  re- 
garding it  from  so  short  a  distance  that  its  translucence  permits 
the  color  conveyed  by  blood  and  veins  to  be  clearly  discerned. 
A  skin  in  perfect  health  is  able  thoroughly  to  perform  its  func- 
tions. Just  enough  fatty  substance  is  elaborated  to  keep  its 
tissue  soft  and  pliable,  and  to  assist  the  nutrition  of  the  hair. 
The  perspiration  is  normally  secreted,  neither  deficient  nor 
superabundant.  Assiduous  attention,  therefore,  to  the  laws  of 
health,  involving  all  that  is  here  descanted  upon,  confers  upon 


1 82  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

a  person  closely  following  them,  among  other  things,  the  boon 
of  a  pure  skin,  fine  complexion,  with  well-colored  and  lustrous 
hair. 

The  most  important  muscular  structure  of  the  body  is  the 
heart.  This  organ,  which  may  be  improved  in  its  rhythmical 
function  of  effecting  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  may  be  much 
injured  valvularly,  and  by  inordinate  enlargement,  if  athletic 
exercise  be  carried  beyond  the  bounds  of  which  an  individual 
constitution  is  capable.  When  the  heart  is  abnormally  increased 
in  size,  it  occasions  much  annoyance  by  its  powerful  thumping 
against  the  inner  walls  of  the  chest,  the  face  becomes  flushed 
from  slight  exertion,  and  the  sufferer  has  headache  and  dizzi- 
ness. The  outlets  of  the  two  cavities  of  the  heart,  by  which 
they  communicate  with  each  other,  with  the  lungs,  and  with  the 
arterial  system,  are  guarded  by  valves.  These  valves  may  be 
aptly  compared  to  sluice-gates  which  permit  the  passage  of  blood 
in  its  proper  direction,  but  which  prevent  its  backward  flow. 
As  soon  as  the  blood  is  thrown  from  the  heart  into  the  great 
blood-vessel  which  starts  from  it,  the  valves  close  and  prevent 
any  return  of  the  current.  By  this  mechanism,  the  two  cavities 
of  the  organ  are  allowed  to  fill.  When  it  is  expelled  from  one 
of  them  by  contraction,  the  current  cannot  flow  backward  into 
the  one  from  which  it  was  received,  or  into  the  other  from  which 
it  was  ejected.  This  beautiful  mechanism  ensures  against  undue 
accumulation  of  blood  in  the  heart,  the  lungs,  or  in  any  of  the 
other  organs  of  the  body.  Certain  fluctuations  in  intensity,  de- 
pendent upon  the  influence  of  the  nervous  system,  occur  with- 
out detriment,  but  if  too  frequently  or  intensely,  are  injurious. 
When  the  current  through  the  heart  is  partially  interrupted,  a 
series  of  distressing  symptoms  ensues.  These  increase  slowly 
but  surely,  and  medical  assistance,  at  its  utmost,  is  able  only  to 
delay  the  progress  of  the  disordered  mechanism.  The  course 
of  the  disease  pursues  its  steady  way  to  fatal  termination. 
Although  sudden  death  from  unusual  strain  upon  the  powers 
of  the  heart  does  sometimes  occur,  it  is  less  common  than  is 
popularly  supposed. 


EDUCATION    OF    THE    BODY.  183 

The  valves  of  the  heart,  the  important  structures  upon 
which  so  much  of  the  safety  and  comfort  of  life  depend,  are 
very  smooth,  thin,  and  delicate,  yet  strong  bands  of  tissue. 
They  are  so  formed  as  to  be  able  to  bear  considerable  pressure 
of  the  blood  with  impunity,  yet  the  sudden  exertion  of  unusual 
force  may  overcome  the  resistance  of  one  of  these  leaflets,  may 
prevent  it  from  exactly  closing  at  the  right  time,  and  may  initiate 
the  series  of  changes  to  which  allusion  has  just  been  made. 

There  is  another  kind  of  injury  besides  that  mentioned, 
which  excessive  action  of  the  heart  may  occasion.  After  the 
lungs  have  received  their  blood  and  converted  it  from  venous 
into  arterial  blood,  they  send  it  to  the  more  powerful  of  the 
two  chambers  of  the  heart  for  distribution  to  the  entire  body. 
From  this  chamber  of  the  heart,  the  great  artery,  the  main 
artery,  as  it  might  be  called,  receives  the  blood,  and  from 
its  arch-like  course  gives  off,  at  the  base  of  the  neck,  branches 
which  supply  with  blood  the  head,  neck,  and  upper  limbs.  The 
beginning  of  this  great  artery,  the  part  in  immediate  connection 
with  the  heart,  receives  at  each  beat  of  that  organ,  the  shock 
of  the  column  of  blood  which  issues  from  the  distributing  cavity 
of  the  heart.  The  wall  of  this  great  artery  is  very  distensible 
and  very  elastic,  in  order  that  it  may  at  first  yield  to  the  impetus 
of  the  current  and  then  contract.  After  being  dilated  by  the 
rush  of  blood  from  the  heart,  its  elasticity  restores  it  to  its 
usual  caliber.  It  can  readily  be  understood,  however,  that  the 
wall  of  an  artery  may  be  overstretched  and  its  elasticity  thereby 
destroyed.  This  condition  causes,  in  the  first  place,  a  certain 
imperfection  in  circulation.  But,  as  time  goes  on,  the  habitual 
dilatation  of  the  artery  at  that  point  beyond  its  proper  size  is 
followed  by  decreased  nutrition  of  its  wall,  and  eventually  by  an 
actual  chemical  and  physical  alteration  in  its  tissue.  It  is  no 
longer  able  satisfactorily  to  perform  its  function.  It  cannot 
react  against  the  impact  of  blood,  it  becomes  more  and  more 
dilated,  and  is  converted  into  a  bulging  and  pulsating  tumor  in 
connection  with  the  lower  part  of  the  great  artery.  This  process 


1 84  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

has  gone  on  insidiously  down  to  a  certain  point  when  difficulty 
in  breathing,  alteration  of  the  voice,  pain,  and  other  symptoms 
of  the  disease  manifest  themselves,  according  in  intensity  with 
the  position  and  size  of  the  tumor  and  the  parts  upon  which  it 
exerts  pressure.  Excessive  exercise  may  have  an  injurious 
effect  upon  the  lungs.  The  practice  of  athletics  expands  the 
chest.  This  enlargement  of  the  thoracic  cavity  is  accompanied 
by  a  corresponding  expansion  of  the  lungs.  Students  who  have, 
during  their  college  course,  devoted  themselves  enthusiastically 
to  athletics,  are  necessarily  obliged,  when  they  enter  upon  their 
life-work,  to  relinquish  to  a  great  extent  systematic  physical 
exercise.  They  soon  cease  to  experience  the  original  full  effect 
of  their  previous  training  of  muscles  and  may  then,  unless  on 
on  their  guard  against  relinquishing  it  entirely,  fall  an  easier  prey 
to  the  effect  of  discontinuance,  than  those  who  had  not  so 
assiduously  enlarged  their  muscles. 

Some  sports  entail  a  certain  degree  of  deformity  if  care  be 
not  taken  to  avoid  it.  The  bicycler's  stoop  has  been  already 
noticed  here.  Undue  exercise  in  the  mild  game  of  lawn-tennis 
may  produce  disability  of  the  elbow.  An  affection  of  the  knee- 
joint  is  sometimes  brought  about  by  playing  foot-ball.  "Tennis- 
elbow,"  "foot-ball  knee,"  "base-ball  fingers,"  are  now  recognized 
crippled  conditions.  No  sport  should  be  carried  so  far  as  to 
entail  the  slightest  deformity  or  inconvenience. 

Gratifying  results  are  often  obtained  in  the  case  of  con- 
sumption by  gentle  exercise,  especially  exercise  of  the  lungs. 
Deep  and  slow  inhalations  of  the  breath,  performed  through 
the  nose  and  in  the  open  air,  accompanied  by  movements  of  the 
arms  from  the  sides  to  a  horizontal  position,  and  then  carried 
above  the  head,  are  valuable  exercises,  on  account  of  their  caus- 
ing penetration  of  air  to  the  deeper  portions  of  the  lungs  and 
promoting  the  removal  of  stagnation  there.  This  exercise  is 
injudicious,  however,  when  consumption  is  advanced,  when 
hectic  fever  and  night-sweats  are  present.  Elocution  and  sing- 
ing are  also  beneficial  as  exercises  for  the  lungs.  They  compel 


EDUCATION  OF  THE  BODY.  185 

the  action  of  deep  breathing,  and  therefore  strengthen  the  mus- 
cles by  which  respiration  is  accomplished.  The  mere  expan- 
sion of  the  chest,  with  corresponding  inhalation  of  fresh  air, 
promotes  the  health  of  the  lungs  and  that  of  the  whole  body. 
This  is  one  of  the  modes  by  which  physical  culture  obstructs 
the  development  of  consumption. 

Massage  rouses  into  activity  the  functions  of  the  skin, 
increasing  the  perspiration  and  the  sebaceous  secretion,  and 
promoting  respiration  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  skin 
itself.  It  restores  the  vigor  of  the  muscular  system  when  that  has 
been  fatigued  or  is  weakened  by  disease.  Observe  how  sedu- 
lously athletes  of  all  kinds,  runners,  walkers,  jumpers,  boxers, 
get  "rubbed  down,"  as  they  call  it,  after  every  great  exertion. 
As  the  invalid  gains  in  strength  as  he  convalesces,  it  is  a  great 
advantage  to  him  if  he  combine  movements  with  the  passive 
exercise  of  massage.  This  is  effected  by  offering  a  certain 
amount  of  resistance  to  the  operator's  strength.  In  fact,  the 
practice  is  what  is  known  as  the  Swedish  movement  cure.  The 
exercise,  passive  and  active,  as  thus  combined,  exerts  a  favorable 
influence  upon  the  circulation,  and  upon  the  composition  and  dis- 
tribution of  the  blood,  promoting  the  nutrition  of  the  whole  ner- 
vous system.  Massage  is  an  excellent  treatment  for  pimples, 
greasy  skin,  tetter,  and  other  affections.  It  is  useful  in  muscular 
rheumatism,  neuralgia,  and  other  affections  of  the  nervous  sys- 
tem; for  enlarged  glands,  anaemia,  disorders  of  the  stomach, 
and  of  the  liver  and  bowels.  In  many  forms  of  disease  of  the 
joints  it  is  of  more  value  than  any  other  treatment. 

Differences  exist  among  different  races  in  height,  weight, 
and  muscular  development.  Rude  tribes,  constantly  active  in  the 
open  air,  as  the  Zulus,  for  instance,  are  endowed,  as  a  general 
rule,  with  greater  agility  and  strength  than  persons  who  dwell 
in  cities.  Nevertheless,  cultivation  of  the  muscles  in  cities  may 
be  made  to  compensate  for  unfavorable  surroundings.  The 
trained  athlete  of  the  city  may  possess  greater  agility,  strength, 
and  endurance  than  does  any  laborer.  From  the  exhibition  that 


jg6  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

soldiers  of  the  Civil  War  gave  as  to  their  endurance,  and  from 
the  supremacy  in  feats  of  agility  and  strength  by  American 
athletes  in  the  Olympic  games  of  the  last  few  years,  we  may  con- 
sider it  as  established  that,  from  a  combination  of  causes — con- 
stitution, climate,  food,  training — the  United  States  is  endowed  in 
its  inhabitants  with  the  finest  physical  representatives  of  the  human 
race.  The  climate  and  topography  of  the  country  vary  greatly 
in  different  parts  of  the  United  States.  The  conditions  of  the 
surface  are  sometimes  hills,  mountains,  plains,  low-lying  marshy 
ground;  the  atmosphere  varies  to  a  certain  degree  correspond- 
ently  with  these  different  situations,  but  any  great  differences 
among  the  people  generally  are  more  attributable  to  habits  of 
life  than  to  locality. 

Faulty  methods  of  physical  education  are  largely  responsible 
everywhere  for  physical  and  intellectual  inferiority.  The  ques- 
tion of  health  is  the  widest  of  any  in  importance ;  without  health, 
life  is  not  worth  living.  The  same  measures  whereby  the  health 
and  beauty  of  the  skin,  the  expression  and  vivacity  of  the  coun- 
tenance are  secured,  are  those  which  promote  health,  strength, 
and  every  sort  of  efficiency;  in  fact  the  latter  come  first  in  the 
order  of  natural  precedence  and  demand  for  consideration. 
Secure  health,  through  all  the  various  means  which  are  here 
defined,  and  its  embellishments  in  beauty  follow.  They  come 
as  a  necessary  consequence,  in  the  material  as  in  the  spiritual 
world:  "Seek  ye  first  the  Kingdom  of  God;  and  all  these 
things  shall  be  added  unto  you." 


CHAPTER    XII. 
CULTIVATION  OF  THE  MIND. 

T  N  the  early  years  of  life,  beginning  just  beyond  infancy, 
•*•  attention  should  first  be  directed  to  the  development  of  the 

body.  The  child's  mind  is  sufficiently  engaged  with  inter- 
est in  the  strange  world  in  which  it  finds  itself,  and  in  thinking 
and  questioning  about  its  marvels.  This  was,  and  still  is,  the 
most  rational  and  universal  course  as  an  educational  method, 
naturally  prevalent  in  ancient  as  well  as  in  modern  times.  Noth- 
ing is  more  short-sighted  than  to  deny  to  children  this  sort  of 
culture  by  indifference  to  their  desire  for  information  or  by 
abruptness  in  imparting  it.  The  course,  although  unsystematic 
as  education,  is,  nevertheless,  the  one  most  natural  and  appropri- 
ate for  early  years.  If  a  child's  efforts  at  thinking  correctly  upon 
the  basis  of  information  imparted,  if  its  curiosity  be  stimulated 
by  successful  endeavor  to  obtain  knowledge,  it  enters  upon  the 
high  road  of  education.  Modern  systems  of  education  are  laud- 
ably endeavoring  to  utilize  this  important  method  of  instruction, 
formerly  devolving  entirely  upon  parents  and  elders  generally. 
The  study  of  books  may  be  advantageously  deferred  to  the 
period  when  application,  with  growth,  becomes  a  natural  impulse 
of  the  mind.  Boys  and  girls  who  have  an  innate  fondness  for 
books  will  not,  in  due  time,  require  encouragement  to  study 
them  for  both  instruction  and  amusement.  Every  one  knows, 
we  see  it  around  us  every  day,  that  they  will  even  surmount  diffi- 
culties in  order  to  gain  possession  of  books,  some  loving  to  read 
better  than  to  play.  But,  looking  to  the  future,  recognizing  that 
nothing  in  the  world,  no  position,  wealth,  or  learning  can  com- 
pensate for  the  loss  of  health,  such  children  should  rather  be 
gently  restrained  than  allowed  or  incited  to  read. 

Children  are  generally  interested  and  acute  observers.  It 
should  be  the  aim  of  parents  and  teachers  to  encourage  in  them 

187 


1 88  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

the  spirit  of  inquiry,  instead  of  gruffly  discouraging  it,  as  some- 
times happens.  Conversation,  including  questions  and  answers, 
is,  even  with  many  men  and  women,  the  chief  source  from  which 
they  obtain  knowledge.  Information  thus  obtained  is  not  so 
exact,  so  thorough  and  systematic  as  that  gained  from  books, 
but  it  is  at  least  vastly  improving,  through  the  interchange  of 
thought.  We  have,  in  modern  times,  come  to  rely  so  greatly 
upon  books  for  information,  that  the  beautiful  arts  of  conversa- 
tion and  letter-writing,  once  so  prevalent  among  the  higher 
ranks  of  society,  have  almost  disappeared. 

By  older  children  the  tasks  of  the  school-room  may  be 
undertaken.  It  will  be  found  that  the  boy  or  girl  who  has 
secured  a  well-developed  body  will  usually  display  a  power  of 
patient  application  and  concentration  of  mind  which  are  excel- 
lent auguries  of  success  in  life.  An  acquaintance  of  a  super- 
ficial sort  with  many  books  is  not  the  most  conducive  to  know- 
ledge. The  memoirs  of  some  of  the  most  remarkable  men  that 
have  ever  lived  show  that  the  absorption  of  knowledge  from  a 
few  works  of  sterling  character  has  often  been  the  foundation 
of  an  extraordinarily  eventful  enlightenment  of  mind. 

There  is  a  tendency  which  those  who  have  the  care  of  the 
education  of  youth  should  oppose.  It  is  the  placing  of  undue 
estimate  upon  the  cultivation  of  the  memory.  Memory  is  the 
basis  of  all  mental  action.  If  it  were  not  for  the  collocation  of 
facts  by  the  memory,  no  rational  judgment  could  be  formed,  no 
action  taken.  But  memory  is  not  mind  itself,  and  though  there 
have  been  persons  of  great  mind  who  had  wonderful  memories, 
there  are  many  persons  who  have  wonderful  memories  with  very 
little  mind.  The  writer  once  knew  a  gentleman  who  had  such 
a  memory,  but  who  confessed  to  him  that  he  could  not  reach 
a  conclusion  on  any  subject.  However  indispensable  some  de- 
gree of  memory  may  be,  it  is  a  less  important  faculty  than  judg- 
ment. The  ability  to  recognize  the  relative  weight  of  facts  con- 
stitutes the  highest  attribute  of  the  mind.  Hence  it  is  that  the 
legal  profession  is  regarded  as  the  highest  which  can  engage 


CULTIVATION  OF  THE  MIND.  189 

the  study  of  any  man.  Education  is  the  training  of  intellectual 
and  moral  faculties  native  to  the  mind.  Knowledge  is  the  inci- 
dental acquirement  in  the  process  of  education.  The  highest 
education  is  that  which  produces  in  the  individual  his  highest 
capacity  of  reasoning.  Everyone  must,  to  some  extent,  think, 
but  only  he  is  truly  educated,  who  constantly  perceives,  effec- 
tively, beyond  the  capacity  of  the  uneducated,  the  operation  of 
cause  and  effect  in  the  small  and  great  things  of  experience. 
He  who  does  not  at  least  endeavor  to  do  so  is  a  puppet,  pulled  to 
action  by  the  whims  of  other  men's  opinions.  No  process,  of 
course,  can  evolve  what  'does  not  exist,  in  at  least  germ  form,  in 
the  mind,  but  if  the  germ  there  exists,  education  is  the  only 
means  by  which  it  can  be  developed.  A  man  may,  however, 
become  a  mere  storehouse  of  information  without  acquiring, 
through  education,  wisdom.  Cowper  expresses  this  truth  in  his 
"Task" : 

"Knowledge  and  wisdom,  far  from  being  one, 

Have  oftimes  no  connection.     Knowledge  dwells 
In  heads  replete  with  thoughts  of  other  men; 

Wisdom,  in  minds  attentive  to  their  own. 
Knowledge,  a  rude,  unprofitable  mass, 

The  mere  materials  with  which  wisdom  builds, 
Till  smoothed  and  squared  and  fitted  to  its  place, 

Does  but  encumber  whom  it  seems  t'  enrich. 
Knowledge  is  proud  that  he  has  learned  so  much ; 

Wisdom  is  humble  that  he  knows  no  more." 

Knowledge  relating  to  an  indiscriminate  quantity  of  sub- 
jects, superficially  studied,  is  of  little  value  and  soon  forgotten. 
This  is  one  of  the  observations  that  has  led  to  the  proverbial 
belief  that  the  head  boy  at  school  is  rarely  heard  of  in  after-life. 
The  form  of  instruction,  until  quite  recently,  lent  itself  readily 
to  the  success  of  any  boy  at  school,  even  if  a  dull  plodder,  if  he 
would  devote  himself  to  memorizing  much  that  he  did  not 
really  absorb  intellectually. 

The  object  of  education,  therefore,  is  less  to  convey  know- 


ICp  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

ledge  than  to  train  the  various  faculties  of  the  mind  so  as  to 
make  them  useful  instruments  to  their  possessor.  School  and 
college  are  preparatory  to  the  business  of  life,  and  should  be  the 
basis  of  professional  or  other  training.  Many  of  the  facts  there 
learned  must  eventually  be  nearly  or  quite  forgotten,  but  a  gen- 
eral recollection  of  the  main  facts  of  history,  literature,  science, 
will  always  remain,  and  with  them  the  effect  of  training  on  the 
mental  powers.  A  young  man  of  eighteen  or  twenty  years  of  age 
has  generally  discovered  in  what  direction  his  bent  and  apti- 
tudes lie.  If  he  feels  a  strong  inclination  towards  a  particular 
pursuit  he  should  at  once  concentrate  his  energies  upon  the  spe- 
cial training  needful  for  that  work. 

At  the  present  day  the  whole  field  of  knowledge  has  be- 
come too  vast  to  be  cultivated  by  any  mind.  It  has  -become 
necessary  for  every  one  to  devote  himself  to  some  special 
field  of  knowledge,  and  desirable  that  he  should  encompass  this 
with  as  much  general  knowledge  as  he  can  acquire  without  inter- 
ference with  the  first.  In  fact,  general  knowledge  is  the  best 
basis  for  any  special  requirement,  and  to  provide  that  is  the  func- 
tion of  school  and  college.  When  a  man  becomes  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  any  profession,  manufacture,  or  mercantile  pur- 
suit, he  has  scanty  leisure  to  study  anything  which  has  not  some 
relation  to  his  daily  duties.  He  should,  however,  whenever  pos- 
sible, take  pains  to  inform  himself  on  subjects  as  wide  as  the 
poles  asunder  from  his  own  pursuits.  Only  upon  the  terms  of 
his  so  doing,  to  the  extent  of  his  opportunity,  can  he  ensure 
himself  against  being  intellectually  narrow.  A  large  part  of  the 
education  of  all  of  us  is  acquired  unsystematically.  A  student 
with  exceptional  gifts  sometimes  neglects  branches  of  his  col- 
lege course  for  the  sake  of  an  intellectual  pursuit  that  may  not 
be  in  the  curriculum  of  the  college  he  attends.  The  father  of 
the  distinguished  orientalist,  Klaproth,  was  an  eminent  chemist, 
who  wished  that  his  son  also  should  devote  himself  to  that  science. 
The  taste  of  the  boy,  however,  set  too  strongly  in  the  direction  of 
the  study  of  Eastern  lands.  At  fourteen  years  of  age  he  began 


CULTIVATION  OF  THE  MIND.  Ipl 

secretly  to  study  the  Chinese  language.  So  rapid  was  his  pro- 
gress that  five  years  later  he  began  to  publish  writings  on  the 
subject  of  Asiatic  languages  and  was  appointed  to  an  official 
position  at  St.  Petersburg.  The  young  Goethe  was  sent  to 
Leipzig  and  Strasburg  to  study  law,  but  gave  himself  up  to 
literature,  science,  and  philosophy.  Such  powerful  impulses  as 
have  actuated  these,  and  such  as  these  individuals,  affect,  it  is 
true,  only  those  of  uncommon  mould.  In  less  degree,  however, 
any  youth  who  has  a  particular  leaning  in  intellectual  pursuits 
will  soon  display  the  turn  of  his  mind  by  the  choice  of  the 
studies  which  he  makes.  He  is  unfortunate  whose  tastes  have 
too  wide  a  range.  His  danger  is  that,  in  attempting  to  cover  too 
wide  a  field,  or  going  over  it  most  superficially,  he  will  fail  to 
make  any  solid  acquirement. 

Some  persons  early  indicate  decided  inclination  towards 
the  study  of  history,  languages,  or  literature.  On  account  of 
inferior  health,  Gibbon,  the  historian,  was  at  first  very  irregular 
in  his  studies.  He  had  read  with  avidity  many  books  when  he 
arrived  at  Oxford  in  his  fifteenth  year  with,  to  use  his  own 
words,  "a  stock  of  information  which  might  have  puzzled  a 
doctor,  and  a  degree  of  ignorance  of  which  a  school-boy  might 
be  ashamed."  The  turn  of  Macaulay's  mind  was  so  early  mani- 
fested that,  before  he  was  eight  years  old,  he  had  written  a  com- 
pendium of  universal  history,  and  soon  afterwards  began  to 
compose  verse.  Pope  "lisped  in  numbers  and  the  numbers 
came."  He  began  to  put  his  thoughts  into  verse  before  he  was 
nine  years  of  age.  Thomas  Chatterton,  dead  at  eighteen,  left 
poetical  compositions  that  secure  his  name  from  oblivion.  Un- 
mistakable evidence  of  artistic  talent  was  given  in  tender  years 
by  Raphael,  Titian,  Diirer,  Millais,  Turner,  and  many  others  who 
subsequently  rose  to  fame.  Mozart,  Beethoven,  Meyerbeer, 
Mendelssohn,  were  mere  children  when  their  musical  perform- 
ances challenged  universal  admiration.  W.  R.  Hamilton  early 
showed  love  for  study  of  language  and  mathematics.  Dr. 
Thomas  Young  was  almost  equally  celebrated  in  the  diverse 


192  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

spheres  of  physics  and  Egyptology.  The  aptitude  of  Pascal,  in 
boyhood,  for  mathematics  and  mechanics  was  remarkable.  It 
is  unnecessary  further  to  cite  examples  of  early  revelation  of 
talent  for  particular  directions.  It  is  rare  that,  even  without 
talent,  capacity  for  doing  certain  things  and  not  doing  others, 
does  not  early  manifest  itself.  Waste  of  time  and  energy  results 
from  pursuing  wrong  directions.  Individual  predilection  and 
capacity  are  the  only  true  guides  for  special  endeavor. 

Study  of  the  classical  languages  and  literature  affords  ex- 
cellent mental  discipline.  The  same  object  is  accomplished  by 
the  cultivation  of  modern  languages,  mathematics,  and  physics. 
It  is  not  necessary,  however,  to  adopt  one  course  entirely  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  other.  If  one  wishes  to  have  what  is  called 
a  practical  education,  or  that  is  his  need,  let  him  by  all  means 
take  it,  but  he  will  be  all  the  better  equipped  for  life,  and  espe- 
cially for  the  years  before  the  close  of  life,  by  possessing  some 
education  in  what  are  the  elegancies  of  literature  and  learning, 
the  so-called  "humanities."  Ample  knowledge,  however,  of 
history  and  of  ancient  literature  can  be  acquired  from  translations 
printed  in  the  mother-tongue.  If  one  understands  nothing  of 
Latin  or  Greek,  he  loses  one  of  the  enjoyments  of  life ;  which  is 
not  fatal  to  comfort,  but  is  only  so  much  that  is  pleasurable 
omitted  from  his  existence.  The  modern  system  in  our  best  in- 
stitutions recognizes  the  advantage  of  elective  studies,  and 
although  the  privilege  is  sometimes  abused  by  students  seeking 
the  easiest  lines  of  effort,  yet,  on  the  whole,  it  has  proved  of 
great  advantage.  No  matter  what  may  have  been  the  extent  of 
preliminary  study,  great  or  small,  every  man  will  find,  upon 
entering  upon  life,  that  in  proportion  to  its  extent  it  is  advan- 
tageous. 

One  cannot  be  too  insistent  in  admonishing  parents  and 
guardians  not  to  be  too  zealous  in  spurring  on  very  young  child- 
ren to  supremacy  in  school  tasks.  However  rapid  acquisition 
of  facts  may  be,  the  gain  is  very  dearly  purchased  at  the  ex- 
pense of  health  and  vigor.  The  boy  or  girl  of  inquiring  mind, 


CULTIVATION  OF  THE  MIND.  193 

naturally  fond  of  books,  needs  no  stimulus,  and  should  rather 
be  held  back  than  encouraged  to  perpetual  diligence.  When 
studious  tastes  are  early  manifested,  parents  and  guardians 
should,  on  the  contrary,  take  particular  care  to  promote  the 
physical  welfare  of  such  youthful  possessors  of  them.  Such 
scholars  are  too  apt  to  neglect  exercise  in  play,  not  from  indiffer- 
ence to  it,  but  from  their  absorption  in  reading.  The  majority 
of  young  people,  however,  fortunately  for  themselves,  have  no 
such  inclination.  But  almost  without  exception  children  have 
a  passion  for  listening  to  stories,  and  will  sacrifice  playtime  for 
the  sake  of  them.  Once,  at  a  large  institution  where  the  boys 
had  a  couple  of  play  hours  after  dark,  the  prefect  of  the 
younger  branch  of  the  boarding-school  was  found  to  have  a 
great  talent  for  story-telling.  Whether  or  not  he  was  actuated 
by  desire  to  keep  them  out  of  mischief,  however  actuated,  the 
fact  is  that  night  after  night  the  majority  of  the  boys  swarmed 
around  his  desk  in  the  study-room  where  they  had  already  been 
at  their  lessons  for  two  hours,  continuously  fascinated  by  the 
prefect's  story,  to  be  continued  the  next  evening,  consisting  of 
weird  adventures  from  which  they  could  not  tear  themselves 
away  even  for  playtime.  Very  little  children  will  listen  with 
absorbed  attention  to  a  tale,  read  or  told,  that  they  have  heard 
a  hundred  times.  A  judicious  parent  or  teacher,  aware  of  this 
propensity,  can,  without  sacrificing  exercise  to  story-telling,  ad- 
vance from  the  purely  imaginative  co  the  instructive  sort  of 
story.  A  great  desire  of  knowledge  can  be  communicated  in 
this  way  by  encouraging  the  questions  that  are  sure  to  arise  from 
the  performance.  Information  secured  in  the  form  of  a  task  is 
much  less  interesting  to  childhood  than  that  conveyed  by  the 
voice,  coupled  with  questions  and  answers.  If  we  go  back  to  the 
time  of  the  Greek  philosophers  and  their  pupils,  we  find  them 
giving  and  receiving  information  precisely  in  that  way.  The 
conversational  method  of  education  has  another  advantage  over 
that  of  regular  tasks.  The  quicker  intelligences  among  the 
scholars  assist  the  teacher  in  conveying  information  to  the 

13 


IQ4  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

slower  ones.     The  brighter   stimulate   and   inform   the   duller 
minds. 

A  mischievous  practice  has  grown  up  of  late  years  in  this 
country,  of  letting  young  children  have  evening  dancing  parties, 
to  go  through  all  the  forms  of  entertainments  of  grown-up  people. 
This  kind  of  excitement  is  good  for  neither  the  body  nor  the 
mind  of  children.  The  immature  nervous  systems  of  the  little 
ones  are  all  alert  and  upon  a  strain.  They  go  home  to  think  and 
chatter  about  the  evening's  entertainment,  and  fall  into  light 
and  unrefreshing  sleep.  Simplicity  of  life  is  the  highest  boon 
for  children.  A  child  should  be  a  real  child,  not  a  little  man  or 
woman.  It  is  unkind,  to  say  the  least,  to  abet  precocious  social 
education.  A  children's  fashionable  party  is  a  very  pretty  spec- 
tacle, but  it  is  one  purchased  at  too  dear  a  rate.  An  old-fashioned 
party,  with  simple  games  and  early  hours,  is  the  only  kind  that 
is  advantageous.  Children  are  adepts  at  amusing  themselves, 
and  it  is  much  better  that  they  should  be  left  to  their  simple 
modes  and  plays,  than  be  led  to  ape  the  conduct  of  their  elders. 
The  heavier  penalty  falls  upon  the  weaker  sex.  "The  little 
ladies"  are  precociously  stimulated,  intellectually  and  emotion- 
ally. What  is  more  attractive  than  an  artless  child?  The 
world  will  soon  enough  rob  it  of  its  illusions.  Leave  children 
as  long  as  possible  to  their  natural  plays.  A  fresh,  hearty, 
innocent  little  boy  or  girl  is  a  refreshing  sight.  A  conspicuous 
case  that  led  to  disaster,  through  folly,  was  one  where  parental 
pride  early  launched  a  young  thing  into  the  social  whirl.  She 
was  pretty,  vain,  tireless  in  amusement.  Years  rolled  by,  late 
hours,  crowded  ball-rooms,  robbed  her  figure  of  grace  and  her 
cheeks  of  bloom.  At  forty  years  of  age  she  is  now  plain,  peev- 
ish, unmarried,  sacrificed  in  health  and  looks  for  nothing.  Such 
rapid  decay  of  all  pleasing  physical  attributes  is  not  uncommon 
among  the  wretchedly  poor;  it  is  rare,  however,  among  those 
in  easy  circumstances,  as  is  this  victim  of  early  dissipation.  Here 
is  a  woman  by  it  transformed,  in  progress  from  youth  to  middle- 
age,  from  a  beauty  to  a  positively  plain,  forbidding  woman. 


CULTIVATION  OF  THE  MIND.  195 

Exposure,  hard  work,  and  generally  hard  contact  with  the 
world  give  the  abjectly  poor  an  appearance  of  age  beyond  their 
true  years.  The  offspring  of  the  rich  may  attend  "children's 
balls,"  but  the  boys  and  girls  of  the  poor  must  go  to  work.  Their 
native  innocence  sometimes  protects  them  from  a  knowledge  of 
wickedness  that  surrounds  them,  but  their  eyes  are  soon  opened. 
Ghastly  acquaintance  with  the  seamy  side  of  life  comes  early  to 
children  of  the  very  poor. 

The  establishment  of  manual  training-schools  in  connection 
with  our  public  school  system  is  a  step  in  the  right  direction  for 
education.  In  these  institutions,  dexterity  in  the  execution  of 
fine  mechanical  work  is  taught,  and  the  connection  between  con- 
ception and  execution  is  established  on  a  firm  foundation.  The 
mechanical  arts  stand  in  close  relation  to  science.  Lads  whose 
tastes  incline  more  to  the  mechanical  than  to  other  lines  of  en- 
deavor and  to  the  artistic  rather  than  the  scientific,  receive  much 
benefit  from  attendance  upon  these  schools.  Not  only  do  they 
introduce  scholars  to  the  world  of  science,  but 'to  the  world  of 
art.  Plastic  art,  like  science,  requires  manual  skill  in  its  fol- 
lowers. Manual  training-schools  therefore  place  their  scholars 
favorably  to  become  engineers,  architects,  physicians,  or 
scientists  pure  and  simple.  These  schools,  therefore,  present  the 
opportunity  for  specialization  upon  the  basis  of  some  slight 
preliminary  education;  and  beyond,  make  natural  introductions 
to  the  final  occupation  of  life.  What  their  scholars  want  to 
know  and  are  instructed  in  are  the  various  practices  that  will 
further  their  intentions  in  life. 

Philadelphia  possesses,  in  the  Drexel  Institute  of  Art,  Sci- 
ence, and  Industry,  founded  in  1891  by  the  late  Anthony  J. 
Drexel,  an  admirable  training-school.  Its  object  is  the  exten- 
sion and  improvement  of  industrial  education  as  a  means  of 
opening  wider  and  better  avenues  of  employment  to  young  men 
and  women.  In  accordance  with  the  founder's  desire,  however, 
the  intention  of  the  institution  has  been  made  more  compre- 
hensive, providing  liberal  means  of  culture  by  lectures,  evening 


196  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

classes,  library,  and  museum.  The  organization  embraces  thirteen 
departments :  the  art,  the  science,  the  business,  the  mechanic 
arts,  the  technical,  the  domestic  science,  the  domestic  economy, 
the  physical  training,  the  normal  department  for  the  training 
of  teachers,  the  department  of  lectures  and  evening  classes, 
the  library,  the  reading-room,  and  the  muse'um. 

The  museum  contains  industrial  art  productions  in  textiles, 
fabrics,  embroideries,  ceramics,  carvings  in  wood  and  ivory, 
metal  work,  etc.  The  library  contains  ten  thousand  volumes. 
The  reading-room  is  supplied  with  a  hundred  periodicals,  liter- 
ary, scientific,  artistic,  and  technical.  The  auditorium  seats 
fifteen  hundred  persons,  contains  a  grand  organ,  and  is  used  as 
an  assembly-room  for  lectures  and  for  concerts  given  by  the 
institution.  Another  lecture  hall  has  seats  for  three  hundred 
students.  It  is  chiefly  used  for  lectures  on  science.  On  the 
third  and  fourth  floors  of  the  institute  are  lecture  and  assembly- 
rooms  connected  with  different  departments.  The  galleries  of 
these  floors  are  decorated  with  Indian  textiles,  ancient  etchings 
and  engravings,  etc.  The  fourth  floor  contains  a  gymnasium, 
bath-rooms,  studios,  etc.  In  the  basement  are  rooms  for  electrical 
and  mechanical  laboratories  and  workshops.  Concerts  of  good 
music  are  frequently  given  in  the  auditorium.  Students  have 
the  option  of  taking  such  groups  of  studies  or  such  single  ar- 
ranged courses  as  they  may  wish  to  pursue.  The  body  of  in- 
structors consists  of  professors,  teachers,  and  lecturers.  At  the 
very  opening  of  the  institute,  in  1892-3,  sixteen  hundred  stu- 
dents were  enrolled  in  the  various  departments,  elective  courses, 
and  special  classes.  Chicago  has  an  institution,  founded  by  Mr. 
Philip  D.  Armour,  similar  to  the  Drexel  Institute. 

The  widest  culture  is,  of  course,  possible  only  to  superior 
gifts  of  mind,  health,  leisure,  and  ample  means  in  the  form  of 
money.  But  restricted  as  it  is  numerically  among  mankind,  it  is 
this  kind  which  gives  us  the  results  of  scientific  research  and 
of  every  kind  of  human  endeavor.  One  man  may  spend  his 
whole  life,  many  men  have  done  so,  in  the  study  of  entomology, 


CULTIVATION  OF  THE  MIND.  197 

insect-life;  and  much  as  he  may  learn  about  insects,  much  still 
remains  to  discover.  Bees  have  been  studied  over  a  longer 
period  of  time  than  have  been  any  other  insect,  and  scientifically, 
too,  at  the  present  day,  and  yet  there  are  mysteries  about  the 
life  of  bees  that  still  remain  unsolved.  Sir  John  Lubbock  has 
devoted  lately,  for  several  years,  great  attention  to  earth-worms, 
resulting  in  the  important  discovery  that  they  remove  millions 
of  tons  of  earth,  and  add,  by  their  action,  fertility  to  the  ground. 
Men  such  as  this  one,  working  in  different  limited  spheres,  obtain 
an  accuracy  of  knowledge  about  the  subjects  to  which  they  de- 
vote themselves  which  is  wholly  unprecedented,  and  which,  in  the 
aggregate,  is  necessarily  enormous;  and  it  is  through  this  fa- 
vored class  that  the  world  generally  receives  its  highest  edu- 
cation. So,  we  have  reason  to  say  that  this  class  has  good  right 
to  exist  as  main  contributors  to  the  sum  of  human  knowledge 
and  well-being. 

The  study  of  medicine,  founded  as  it  is  upon  an  exact 
knowledge  of  anatomy  and  the  functions  of  the  animal  body, 
naturally  leads  the  thoughts  of  a  student  of  it  to  anthropology, 
geology,  zoology,  botany,  and  chemistry.  We  owe  much  to  the 
labors  of  medical  men.  Speaking  first  with  reference  to  the 
city  of  Philadelphia,  with  whose  medical  history  the  writer 
is  more  intimately  acquainted  than  with  that  of  any  other, 
he  may  be  allowed  to  cite  a  few  cases  in  point.  The  labors 
of  Professor  Joseph  Leidy,  student  and  demonstrator  of  human 
and  comparative  anatomy,  ranged  over  a  wide  field,  and  were, 
at  the  same  time,  so  close,  that  no  manifestation  of  nature 
was  below  his  attention.  He  wrote  upon  the  structure  and 
development  of  the  human  race,  the  extinct  animal  forms  of  our 
Northwestern  States  and  Territories,  and  upon  animal  and 
vegetable  parasites  that  infest  animal  bodies.  The  Academy 
of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia  owes  much  to  the  labors 
of  physicians  of  the  city.  Many  physicians  of  Philadelphia, 
while  engaged  in  the  practice  of  their  profession,  paid  attention 
to  some  special  branch  of  natural  history.  Professor  Joseph 


198  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

Pancoast,  renowned  for  his  operative  skill  in  surgery,  was  inter- 
ested in  the  study  of  various  forms  of  animate  and  inanimate 
nature.  This  is  true  also  of  Professor  Samuel  D.  Gross,  long  a 
colleague  of  Professor  Pancoast's  in  Jefferson  Medical  College. 
Devoted  to  the  practice  of  surgery,  he  was  profoundly  interested 
in  lower  animal  life,  and  unwearied  in  its  study.  The  late  Pro- 
fessor William  Pepper,  provost  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
directed  the  many-sided  development  of  that  institution  of  learn- 
ing. Dr.  S.  Weir  Mitchell,  famous  as  a  specialist  in  nervous 
diseases,  still  in  practice,  attracts  patients  from  all  parts  of  our 
own  and  foreign  lands.  He  has  closely  studied  the  chemical 
nature  and  the  effects  of  poisons,  performing  a  number  of  dan- 
gerous experiments  while  examining  into  the  subject  of  the 
poison  of  the  rattle-snake. 

The  life  of  the  Scotch  physician,  John  Hunter,  born  in 
1728,  affords  an  example  of  how  much  can  be  accomplished  by 
concentration  of  the  mental  faculties  upon  subjects  which  inter- 
est them  and  with  which  they  are  fitted  to  deal.  He  had  no 
academical  education.  His  youth,  devoted  to  country  sports, 
secured  for  him  the  robust  health  which  served  him  in  good 
stead  through  life.  His  labors  were  always  directed  towards 
some  specific  end.  This,  in  connection  with  the  talent  of  the 
man,  accounts  for  his  wonderful  fruitfulness  in  discovery.  He 
studied  the  habits  of  bees.  He  became  proficient  in  human 
anatomy.  He  took  up  surgery.  His  researches  extended  to  the 
lower  animals,  of  which  he  gradually  collected  a  large  and  valu- 
able museum  of  various  forms.  His  cultivation  of  physiology 
was  fruitful  in  discovery.  His  labors  revolutionized  surgery. 
Among  his  pupils  were  Jenner,  the  discoverer  of  vaccination, 
Abernethy,  and  Sir  Astley  Cooper,  the  great  London  surgeons 
of  that  time,  and  Dr.  Philip  Syng  Physick,  the  eminent  surgeon 
of  Philadelphia. 

With  men  of  a  certain  kind  of  mind  and  temperament,  dif- 
ficulty stimulates  effort.  Labor  and  perseverance  become  with 
them  habitual.  The  necessity  of  economizing  time  establishes 


CULTIVATION  OF  THE  MIND.  199 

with  them  system,  and  forbids  the  formation  of  evil  associations 
and  habits,  so  that  what  the  superficial  observer  has  sometimes 
thought  to  be  their  waste  of  talent  and  time  turns  out  to  be 
crowned  with  perfect  success.  The  duties  of  the  working  lad 
preserve  his  strength.  His  short  hours  for  study  are  prized. 
Since  manual  occupations  give  freedom  of  mind,  there  is  time 
for  reflection.  Benjamin  Franklin  affords  an  example  of  tri- 
umphant self-education  under  difficulties.  A  native  of  one  of 
Great  Britain's  colonies  in  America,  he  had  access  to  but  few 
books.  From  those,  however,  he  studied  so  well  as  to  absorb 
their  instruction  thoroughly.  His  youthful  mind  was  nourished 
upon  Bunyan,  Locke,  Addison,  and  other  great  writers,  and  in 
his  delightful  autobiography  he  tells  how  the  pleasure  he  derived 
from  the  style  of  "The  Spectator"  inspired  him  with  the  use- 
ful practice  of  reading  one  of  its  papers  attentively  and  then, 
after  an  interval  of  time,  endeavoring  to  reproduce  its  lan- 
guage. While  a  lad  he  contributed  anonymous  articles  to  his 
brother's  newspaper,  in  Boston,  which  were  ascribed  to  the 
foremost  men  in  town.  He  cultivated  his  bodily  powers  at  the 
same  time  with  such  success  that,  in  London,  he  excelled  his  fel- 
low-printer craftsmen  in  strength,  and  was  so  expert  a  swimmer 
that  he  was  solicited  to  become  a  teacher  of  the  art  of  swimming. 
Returning  from  London  to  Philadelphia,  he  finally  succeeded 
in  establishing  himself  in  the  printer's  business,  which  he  con- 
ducted so  successfully  that  he  was  able,  in  his  prime,  to  with- 
draw partially  from  it,  while  receiving  a  handsome  income  from 
it  for  fifteen  years.  The  numerous  institutions  which  he  either 
founded  or  fostered  attest  to  this  day  the  prodigality  of  his  in- 
terest in  human  welfare. 

The  life  of  Michael  Faraday  is  encouraging  to  those  who 
begin  with  few  advantages.  The  son  of  a  blacksmith,  he  was, 
in  his  youth,  apprenticed  to  a  bookbinder.  So  decided  was  his 
inclination  towards  chemistry  that,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  he 
became,  upon  the  recommendation  of  Sir  Humphrey  Davy,  an 
assistant  in  the  laboratory  of  the  Royal  Institution.  Subse- 


2OO  •          HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

quently  advanced  there  to  the  position  of  professor  of  chemistry, 
he  remained  attached  to  the  institution  for  fifty-four  years. 
During  his  life  he  made  a  profound  study  of  electricity,  and  will 
always  be  known  as  a  great  contributor  to  its  science. 

In  the  broadest  sense,  we  are  all  educated  by  the  circum- 
stances of  our  lives,  combined  with  our  capacity  and  industry. 
The  highest  achievements  of  the  schools  can  do  no  more  than 
give  the  training  of  exact  thought.  The  man  who  looks  below 
the  mere  surface  of  the  material  or  immaterial  agencies  with 
which  he  works,  who  really  thinks,  who  schools  himself,  in  all 
science  or  art,  to  look  backward  from  effect  to  cause,  is  the  being 
who  advances  his  own  interests  and  those  of  his  kind.  Such 
men  are  never  satisfied  that  improvement  and  even  great  dis- 
covery do  not  constantly  await  that  kind  of  thought  which  is 
allied  with  persistent  work.  Comparatively  few  of  mankind  are 
those  who  have  the  mind  and  the  industry  conjoined,  that  enable 
one  who  is  so  endowed  to  collate  and  classify  all  facts  obtained 
by  study,  so  that  they  shall  throw  light  upon  one  another.  For 
youth,  it  is  generally  best  that  it  shall  not  be  diverted  from  pre- 
scribed studies;  after  that,  the  mind  should  be  allowed  a  freer 
range  in  which  originality  may,  if  present,  assert  itself.  The 
inordinate  multiplication  of  books  in  the  present  condition  of 
our  civilization  may  be  a  disadvantage  to  a  youth,  certainly  will 
be,  if  he  reads  indiscriminately  all  of  them  that  fall  in  his  way. 
A  mCre  bookish  man  wanders  from  one  theme  to  another,  acquir- 
ing a  great  amount  of  desultory  information  for  which  the  mem- 
ory affords  no  permanent  hive.  George  Eliot  gives  us,  in  "Mid- 
dlemarch,"  a  sketch  of  this  kind  of  person.  She  says  that  he 
was  "noted  in  the  country  as  a  man  of  profound  learning,  under- 
stood for  many  years  to  be  engaged  in  a  great  work  concern- 
ing religious  history.  His  very  name  carried  an  impressiveness 
hardly  to  be  measured  without  a  precise  chronology  of  scholar- 
ship." This  gentleman  had  been  for  years  laboriously  collect- 
ing materials  for  a  "Key  to  all  Mythology,"  but,  George  Eliot 
says,  "was  continually  losing  himself  in  labyrinths  of  unfruitful 


CULTIVATION  OF  THE  MIND.  2OI 

speculation  among  small  closets  and  winding-stairs,  and  in  an 
agitated  dimness  about  the  Cabeiri,  or  in  an  episode  of  other  myth- 
ologists'  ill-considered  parallels,  easily  lost  sight  of  any  purpose 
which  had  prompted  him  to  his  labors.  With  his  taper  stuck 
before  him,  he  forgot  the  absence  of  windows,  and  in  bitter  man- 
uscript remarks  on  other  men's  notions  about  the  solar  deities,  he 
had  become  indifferent  to  the  sunlight."  This  citation  is  of  a  case, 
not  of  desultory  reading,  but  of  reading  to  worse  than  no  pur- 
pose; so  that,  if  ill-pursued  studies  on  a  single  theme  may  be 
followed  by  such  results,  what  is  not  possible  when  they  are  pur- 
sued on  many  themes?  The  mind  becomes  a  rag-bag  of  infor- 
mation capable  of  affording  nothing  in  production  but  a  crazy- 
quilt  of  information. 

Children  who  spend  too  much  time  at  their  books  often 
begin  to  complain  of  headache.  This  symptom  denotes  that  the 
brain  is  suffering  from  the  comparatively  impure  blood  which  it 
is  receiving,  and  from  the  fatigue  caused  by  its  being  kept  too 
long  in  action.  A  radical  change  in  the  child's  habits  should  at 
once  be  made ;  it  should  be  sent  out  of  doors  to  exercise  in 
play.  Corporal  training  is  too  important  to  be  neglected.  The 
basis  of  physical  powers  can  be  secured  only  in  youth.  There 
must  always  come  a  time  when  man  or  woman  is  brought  to 
realize  that  a  too  free  indulgence  in  reading  has  been  purchased 
at  too  high  a  price. 

Knowledge  is  real  only  when  it  has  become  an  integral 
part  of  our  minds,  when  it  is  so  intimately  blended  with  experi- 
ence that  forgetfulness  is  impossible.  Every  one  possesses  a 
greater  or  less  degree  of  such  knowledge.  We  cannot,  for  in- 
stance, forget  the  multiplication  table;  transactions  of  daily  life 
keep  it  firmly  in  memory.  The  physician  and  surgeon  cannot 
forget  the  situation  of  the  different  organs  of  the  body,  or 
the  positions  of  the  blood-vessels  and  nerves ;  constant  reference 
to  them  makes  them  familiar.  The  attorney  cannot  forget  the 
fundamental  principles  and  many  of  the  acts  which  constitute 
law.  So  we  may  say  of  all  professions,  that  their  members 


2O2  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

have  an  ineradicable  memory  for  certain  things.  For  a  contrary 
reason,  one  may  read  a  multitude  of  books,  but  only  those  which 
have  been  the  subject  of  real  thought,  thought  which  masters 
the  subject,  impress  themselves  so  deeply  as  to  make  a  permanent 
possession  of  the  mind. 

Only  the  substance  of  those  sterling  works  which  have  the 
impress  of  thought  remains  permanently  in  the  memory.  A 
young,  versatile  person  is  always  in  danger  of  accumulating, 
from  indiscriminate  reading,  a  quantity  of  unassimilated  mat- 
ter. If  this  be  a  danger,  unless  the  authors  be  well  chosen,  even 
in  the  case  of  works  dealing  with  serious  subjects,  what  may 
not  be  the  consequence  of  taking  at  random  those  of  the  imagina- 
tion, whose  number  at  the  present  time  is  legion,  among  which 
miscellaneous  array  are  to  be  found  works  of  talent  and  genius 
and  others  of  the  veriest  trash,  giving  the  most  false  idea  of  the 
world  in  spheres  intellectual  and  moral?  It  is  a  great  advan- 
tage in  early  life  to  have  some  well-educated  senior  at  hand  to 
point  the  way  that  leads  to  instruction  and  delight,  and  put  a  sign 
forbidding  entrance  upon  literary  paths  that  lead  nowhere  in 
information  or  literary  charm.  Some  years  ago  some  boys  were 
found  gloating  over  the  papers  of  a  trashy  weekly  publication. 
The  monitor,  who  happened  to  be  near,  and  interested  in  their 
welfare,  instead  of  denouncing  such  literature  and  putting  a 
stop  to  their  reading  it,  soon  thereafter  picked  up  a  number  of 
the  weekly,  and  reading  it  aloud  to  one  of  the  boys,  interspersed 
his  comments  in  the  story.  This  he  did  to  such  good  effect  that 
the  boy  was  never  again  seen  to  relish  the  contents  of  the  weekly, 
soon  thereafter  took  a  different  direction  in  his  reading,  and  is 
now  a  writer  of  considerable  reputation. 

The  imagination,  no  less  than  other  faculties  of  the  mind, 
requires  restraint  and  cultivation.  Even  in  matters  of  science, 
the  mind  is  not  productive  to  the  highest  degree  without  imagin- 
ation. But,  unless  curbed,  it  is  like  a  runaway  horse  that  may 
carry  the  rider  to  injury  and  even  to  destruction.  Well  trained 
by  observation  and  reflection,  engendering  moderation  in  its 


CULTIVATION  OF  THE  MIND.  203 

flights,  and  with  good  taste,  imagination  has  created  some  of  the 
finest  monuments  in  the  literature  produced  by  talent  and  genius. 
The  art  of  literary  expression,  consisting  of  the  arrangement 
of  materials  (what  is  called  construction),  the  manner  in  which 
conceptions  are  wedded  to  words,  the  grace  with  which  those 
words  are  presented  in  sentences  (producing  what  is  known  as 
style),  together  form,  to  the  acute  reader,  a  pleasure  of  a  sort 
which  has  been  in  all  times  the  solace  of  intelligent  and  edu- 
cated mankind,  the  delight  of  youth  from  its  earliest  years,  and 
the  resource  of  age  in  its  calm,  decrepitude,  or  sorrow.  A  work 
of  art  in  literature  quickens  the  emotion  and  refines  the  mind 
in  the  same  manner  as  does  the  sight  of  a  fine  painting  or  statue, 
a  great  musical  composition,  or,  mayhap,  a  noble  edifice. 

Fiction  includes  all  works  in  which  imagination  literarily 
takes  the  leading  part — romances,  novels,  poems,  plays,  and  such 
works  as  the  "Arabian  Nights"  and  "Vathek."  But,  whereas  in  the 
"Arabian  Nights"  and  "Vathek"  and  such  works,  the  fiction  is  not 
pinioned  by  fact,  because  in  these  the  supernal  and  unknown 
enter ;  in  the  case  of  poems,  their  aim  is  to  present  the  highest 
truths;  in  that  of  novels  and  plays,  theirs  to  be  exactly  repre- 
sentative of  lesser  truths,  to  hold  the  mirror  up  to  daily  nature; 
and  it  is  only  in  the  case  of  romances  that  a  middle  ground 
appears,  on  which  there  are  found  neither  exact  truths  nor,  on 
the  other  hand,  their  entire  absence. 

Love  of  fiction  is  natural  and  well-nigh  universal.  The  best 
authors  afford  knowledge  of  phases  of  society  with  which  we  are 
not  personally  familiar,  or  present  us  with  pictures  so  faithful 
to  life  of  those  with  which  we  are  most  familiar,  as  to  give  us, 
in  enjoying  them,  not  less  pleasure.  In  a  sketch  by  Dr.  John 
Brown,  of  Edinburgh,  entitled  "Thackeray's  Literary  Career," 
he  says:  "Perhaps  more  remarkable  than  even  his  invention,  is 
the  fidelity  with  which  the  conception  of  his  characters  is  pre- 
served. This  never  fails.  They  seem  to  act,  as  it  were,  of 
themselves.  The  author,  having  once  projected  them,  appears 
to  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  them.  They  act  somehow 


2O4  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

according  to  their  own  natures,  unprompted  by  him  and  beyond 
his  control.  He  tells  us  this  himself  in  one  of  those  delightful 
and  most  characteristic  'Roundabout  Papers,'  which  are  far  too 

much  and  too  generally  undervalued." In  one  of  his 

"Roundabout  Papers"  Thackeray  writes:  "Novels  are  sweets. 
All  people  with  healthy  literary  appetites  love  them, — almost  all 
women, — a  vast  number  of  clever,  hard-headed  men.  Why,  one 
of  the  most  learned  physicians  in  England  said  to  me  only  yester- 
day: 'I  have  just  read  so-and-so  for  the  second  time'  (naming 
one  of  Jones's  exquisite  fictions).  Judges,  bishops,  chancellors, 
mathematicians  are  notorious  novel-readers;  as  well  as  young 
boys  and  sweet  girls  and  their  kind,  tender  mothers.  Who  has 
not  read  about  Eldon,  and  how  he  cried  over  novels  every  night 

when  he  was  not  at  whist  ? And  pray,  what  is  the  moral 

of  this  apologue?  The  moral  I  take  to  be  this:  The  appetite 
for  novels,  extending  to  the  end  of  the  world;  far  away  in  the 
frozen  deep,  the  sailors  reading  them  to  one  another  during  the 
endless  night;  far  away  under  the  Syrian  stars,  the  solemn 
sheiks  and  elders  barkening  to  the  poet  as  he  recites  his  tales ;  far 

away  in  the  Indian  camps,  where  the  soldiers  listened  to 's 

tales  or 's,  after  the  hot  day's  march ;  far  away  in  little 

Chur  yonder,  where  the  lazy  boy  pours  over  the  fond  volume 
and  drinks  it  in  with  all  his  eyes;  the  demand  being  what  we 
know  it  is,  the  merchant  must  supply  it,  as  he  will  supply  sad- 
dles and  pale  ale  for  Bombay  or  Calcutta. 

"But,  as  surely  as  the  cadet  drinks  too  much  pale  ale,  it 
will  disagree  with  him;  and  so  surely,  dear  youth,  will  too 
much  novels  cloy  on  thee.  I  wonder,  do  novel  writers  them- 
selves read  many  novels?  If  you  go  into  Gunter's,  you  don't 
see  those  charming  young  ladies  (to  whom  I  present  my  most 
respectful  compliments)  eating  tarts  and  ices,  but  at  the  proper 
eventide  they  have  good,  plain,  wholesome  tea  and  bread  and 
butter." 

The  taste  for  novel  reading  in  youth  needs  guidance,  and 
sometimes  restraint.  Trashy  stories  about  Indians,  pirates, 


CULTIVATION  OF  THE  MIND.  2O$ 

and  detectives  should  be  tabooed.  Without  literary  merit,  with 
rare  exceptions,  they  please  only  by  reason  of  their  sensationalism 
and  the  immature  minds  of  their  readers.  Almost  all  books  of 
this  class  are  corruptive  of  good  literary  taste.  Happily,  sen- 
sible, well-bred  youth  soon  loses,  if  it  ever  has  a  liking,  for  this 
sort  of  reading.  The  best  antidote  for  poor  books  is  acquaint- 
ance with  good  ones.  The  works  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  Thack- 
eray, Dickens,  George  Eliot,  and  other  good  writers  are  enjoyed 
by  all  who  can  distinguish  between  the  real  and  the  spurious  in 
literature.  Well-written  historical  novels  are  mines  of  interest 
to  youth.  Dickens  succeeded  well  in  his  "Tale  of  Two  Cities" 
(that  is,  London  and  Paris)  in  making  the  suspense,  dangers, 
and  horrors  of  the  Reign  of  Terror  in  the  French  Revolution 
present  to  the  mind.  Thackeray  has  powerfully  delineated  in 
his  "Esmond"  and  in  "The  Virginians,"  the  condition  of  politics 
and  society,  the  wars  of  Marlborough  and  the  American  Revo- 
lution. Blackmore  has  described  the  rebellion  of  Monmouth 
in  "Lorna  Doone."  Much  light  is  shed  for  us  upon  the  time 
of  Queen  Anne,  of  England,  by  Addison,  Steele,  and  Swift.  The 
poems  of  Dryden  form  a  commentary  upon  the  period  of  the 
English  Restoration  and  the  reigns  of  Charles  II  and  James  II. 
The  life  of  the  succeeding  Georgian  period  is  illuminated  for  us 
by  Fielding,  Richardson,  Goldsmith,  and  Johnson.  In  reference 
to  the  power  of  the  imagination,  under  skillful  guidance,  to 
make  history  vivid  to  our  minds,  Carlyle  says :  "Marlborough, 
you  recollect,  said  he  knew  no  English  history  but  what  he  had 
learned  from  Shakespeare.  There  are  really,  if  we  look  at  it, 
few  as  memorable  histories.  The  great  salient  points  are  admir- 
ably seized,  all  rounds  itself  into  a  kind  of  rhymthic  coherence; 
it  is,  as  Schlegel  says,  epic;  as,  indeed,  all  delineation  by  a  great 
thinker  will  be.  There  are  right  beautiful  things  in  those  pieces, 
which,  indeed,  together  form  one  beautiful  thing.  That  battle 
of  Agincourt  strikes  me  as  one  of  the  most  perfect  things,  in  its 
sort,  we  anywhere  have  of  Shakespeare's.  The  description  of 
the  two  hosts ;  the  worn-out  jaded  English ;  the  dread  hour,  big 


2O6  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

with  destiny,  when  the  battle  shall  begin;  and  then  that  death- 
less valor.  'Ye  good  yeomen  whose  limbs  were  made  in  Eng- 
land!' There  is  a  noble  patriotism  in  it — far  other  than  the  in- 
difference you  sometimes  hear  ascribed  to  Shakespeare.  A  true 
English  heart  breathes  calm  and  strong  through  the  whole  busi- 
ness; not  boisterous,  protrusive;  all  the  better  for  that.  There 
is  a  sound  in  it  like  the  ring  of  steel." 

Such  works  of  fiction  may  be  regarded  as  having  a  legitimate 
place  in  a  scheme  of  education,  a  place  far  from  unimportant, 
and  yet  one  that  affords  temptation  to  make  it  unduly  important. 
It  is  only  incidental  instruction  in  history  that  is  to  be  derived 
from  the  works  of  imagination  of  master-minds.  The  real 
sphere  of  fiction  of  all  sorts  is  to  bring  about  relaxation  of  the 
mind.  Their  themes  should  not  be  permitted  to  encroach  upon 
hours  of  serious  reading  for  instruction  in  science,  art,  or  what- 
ever may  interest  the  student.  Great  poems,  dramas,  and  various 
other  works,  satires,  what  not,  however,  should  enter  into  any 
scheme  of  liberal  education. 

Children  reared  in  cities  are  often  privileged  in  having 
access  to  public  and  private  libraries,  but  are  peculiarly  favored 
only  if  they  read  under  guidance  capable  of  directing  their  read- 
ing to  the  best  advantage.  The  motto  of  the  Ridgway  Branch 
of  the  Philadelphia  Library  is  "Qui  scit  ubi  sit  scientia,  proximus 
est" — "He  who  knows  where  to  find  knowledge  is  the  nearest 
to  it."  To  have  a  judicious  guide,  philosopher,  and  friend  to 
point  out  the  pleasantest  ro'ads  to  Parnassus,  makes  the  be- 
ginning of  reading  quite  easy.  Without  such  a  one  in  youth, 
much  time  is  wasted  and  disappointment  experienced  in  seek- 
ing, unaided,  what  will  lead  both  to  instruction  and  amusement. 
No  less  a  person  than  Sir  Walter  Scott  describes  this  kind  of 
clanger  in  "Waverley."  He  says:  "The  instructor  had  to  com- 
bat another  propensity  too  often  united  with  brilliancy  of  fancy 
and  vivacity  of  talent,  that  indolence,  namely,  of  disposition 
which  can  only  be  stirred  by  some  strong  motive  of  gratification, 
and  which  renounces  study  as  soon  as  curiosity  is  gratified,  the 


CULTIVATION  OF  THE  MIND.  2O/ 

pleasure  of  conquering  first  difficulties  exhausted,  and  the  novelty 
of  pursuit  at  an  end.  Edward  would  throw  himself  with  spirit 
upon  any  classical  author  of  which  his  preceptor  proposed  the 
perusal,  make  himself  master  of  the  style  so  far  as  to  under- 
stand the  story,  and  if  that  pleased  or  interested  him,  he  finished 
the  volume.  But  it  was  in  vain  to  attempt  fixing  his  attention 
on  critical  distinctions  of  philology,  upon  the  difference  of 
idiom,  the  beauty  of  felicitous  expression,  or  the  artificial  com- 
binations of  syntax Alas !  while  he  was  thus  permitted 

to  read  only  for  the  gratification  of  his  amusement,  he  foresaw 
not  that  he  was  losing  forever  the  opportunity  of  acquiring 
habits  of  firm  and  assiduous  application,  of  gaining  the  art  of 
controlling,  directing,  and  concentrating  the  powers  of  his  mind 
for  earnest  investigation — an  art  far  more  essential  than  even 
that  intimate  acquaintance  with  classical  learning  which  is  the 

primary  object  of  study Young  Waverley  drove  through 

the  sea  of  books  like  a  vessel  without  a  pilot  or  a  rudder.  Noth- 
ing, perhaps,  increases  by  indulgence  more  than  a  desultory 
habit  of  reading,  especially  under  such  opportunities  of  grati- 
fying it.  I  believe  one  reason  why  such  numerous  instances  of 
erudition  occur  among  the  lower  rank  is,  that  with  the  same 
powers  of  mind,  the  poor  student  is  limited  to  a  narrow  circle  for 
indulging  his  passion  for  books,  and  must,  necessarily,  make 
himself  master  of  the  few  he  possesses  ere  he  can  acquire  more. 
Edward,  on  the  contrary,  like  the  epicure  who  only  deigned  to 
take  a  single  morsel  from  the  sunny  side  of  a  peach,  read  no 

volume  after  it  ceased  to  excite  his  curiosity  or  interest 

Knowing  much  that  is  known  to  but  few,  Edward  Waverley  might 
justly  be  considered  as  ignorant,  since  he  knew  little  of  what 
adds  dignity  to  man  and  qualifies  him  to  support  and  adorn  an 
elevated  situation  in  society." 

Here,  set  down  in  the  plainest  terms,  is  the  opinion  of  a  man 
who  was  not  only  a  great  student,  but  one  of  the  greatest  writers 
who  ever  lived.  He  shows,  in  few  words,  that  desultory  read- 
ing is  destructive  of  learning  and  accomplishment.  For  the 


2O8  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

reasons  that  Sir  Walter  Scott  assigns  against  desultory  read- 
ing, provincial  schools,  academies,  and  libraries  are  more  likely 
than  similar  institutions  in  large  cities  to  be  beneficial  to  youth. 
When  it  comes  to  real  research,  by  educated  and  mature  scholars, 
then,  of  course,  the  finest  libraries,  which  are  only  in  the  greatest 
cities  in  the  world,  are  they  to  which  such  scholars  must  resort. 

When  we  compare  the  physical  strength  of  the  male  with  the 
female  sex,  we  find  that  they  present  a  great  contrast.  It  did 
not  always  exist  to  the  same,  or  anything  like  the  same,  degree 
in  ancient  as  it  does  in  modern  times.  American  Indian  women 
performed  the  labor  which  the  men  despised,  their  province  being 
the  fighting,  and  so  it  is  to  the  present  day  among  barbarous 
peoples.  Nor  is  it  very  long  since  even  civilized  women  did  a 
large  amount  of  hard  labor  in  the  fields.  Among  the  peasantry 
of  Europe  the  women  still  work  in  the  fields  and  in  other  ways 
execute  laborious  work.  The  habit  of  the  men  to  see  their 
women  work,  while  they  often  loll,  is  sometimes  seen  in  this 
country  among  a  group  of  immigrants,  where  the  men  stroll 
along  smoking  their  pipes  while  the  women  follow  with  bundles 
and  babies.  Modern  national  habits  have  changed  much  in  these 
respects.  Wherever  they  have,  naturally  the  women  are  not 
so  muscular  and  hardy  as  they  once  were,  especially  that  class 
which  once  worked  in  the  fields. 

Nevertheless,  even  now,  when  there  has  been  in  this  re- 
spect a  great  change  in  the  world,  and  in  some  a  radical  one, 
there  are  found  individual  women  who  are  more  than  a  match 
for  an  average  man.  Once  upon  a  time,  before  and  after  two 
thousand  years  ago,  the  German  women  and  children  accom- 
panied the  German  armies  in  their  wars.  One  of  the  later 
Roman  historians  gives  a  graphic  account  of  the  assistance  the 
women  of  Gaul  rendered  their  husbands  when  attacked.  The 
Roman  legions  were  never  accompanied  to  the  field  by  women. 
They  regarded  such  a  practice  as  belonging  to  barbarians.  There 
is  indicated,  by  an  event  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV  of  France,  a 
reminiscence  of  the  mingling  of  men  and  women  of  Gaul  in 


CULTIVATION  OF  THE  MIND.  269 

times  of  war;  for  on  one  occasion,  as  we  learn  from  French 
memoirs,  the  ladies  of  the  Court  of  Louis  XIV  followed  the 
army  on  the  march  to  the  northern  frontier  for  so  considerable 
a  distance  that  they  were  exhausted  and  obliged  to  sleep  in  their 
carriages  at  night.  The  references  made  by  the  Greeks  to  a 
race  of  female  warriors  which  they  called  Amazons,  are  either 
mythical  or  else  exaggerations  of  the  martial  exercises  held  in 
the  region  of  the  Caucasus.  It  is  a  fact,  however,  that  the 
legends  of  the  Greeks  about  Amazons  receive  some  confirmation 
from  the  circumstance  that  at  the  present  day,  in  the  negro  king- 
dom of  Dahomey,  on  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  women  as  well 
as  men  are  warriors.  In  that  country,  a  part  of  the  army  is  com- 
posed of  women,  to  whom  is  assigned  the  post  of  honor  in  battle. 
The  number  of  these  women  warriors  has  been  estimated  at 
from  one  thousand  to  twenty-five  hundred,  and  it  has  been  re- 
marked of  them  that  they  show  wonderful  powers  of  endurance. 

Among  the  effects  of  civilization  has  been  a  large  release 
of  women  from  the  obligations  of  hard  labor.  This  has,  of 
course,  led  to  prevalence  among  them  of  less  robustness  of  frame 
and  muscular  strength.  But,  even  now,  instances  are  numerous 
where  they  perform  hard  work.  Additionally  to  performance 
of  field  work,  more  or  less  over  the  whole  world,  there  are 
washerwomen,  charwomen,  and  in  some  places  are  female  car- 
penters, bricklayers,  and  hod-carriers.  Even  in  Vienna,  young 
girls  have  been  seen  carrying  bricks  to  bricklayers.  In  the  United 
States  there  is  a  strong  prejudice  against  the  employment  of 
women  in  manual  labor  of  the  harder  kinds,  and  yet  a  reasonable 
amount  of  it,  in  the  form  of  field-work  on  farms,  would  be  con- 
ducive to  the  improvement  of  their  forms,  strength,  and  health. 

Higher  education  is  largely  sought  by  women,  very  often 
without  capacity  for  it  or  chance  in  the  future  for  its  employ- 
ment. The  problem  concerning  the  coeducation  of  young  men 
and  women  is  difficult,  and  cannot  be  regarded  as  solved  until 
there  is  more  experience  on  the  subject.  Two  things,  however, 
are  certain:  that  certain  differences  must  be  observed  in  the 

14 


2IO  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

physical  training  of  young  men  and  women,  and  that  women  are 
capable  of  education  equally  with  men,  in  at  least  most  branches 
of  learning.  It  has  been  sometimes  stated  that  although  women 
have  attained  great  excellence  in  literature,  science,  and  art,  they 
never  reach  the  highest  pitch  reached  by  men.  This  is  true. 
It  may  be  said,  however,  in  reply,  that  never,  until  quite  modern 
times,  have  women  had  opportunity  to  excel.  But,  granting  that, 
it  still  remains  that  there  are  certain  reasons  which  handicap  them 
in  comparison  with  men.  These  relate  by  contrast  to  sexual 
disabilities.  There  are  others  which  are  indirectly,  not  directly, 
sexual.  Scarcely  a  woman  has  ever  shown  an  inkling  of  the 
capacity  to  make  long  research,  lasting  for  years,  such  as  many 
men,  especially  Germans,  habitually  love  and  practice.  Again, 
the  brain  is  the  organ  of  the  mind.  In  men  its  convolutions, 
indicative  of  fine  quality,  are  equal  in  fineness  to  those  of  women ; 
but  in  men  the  brain  is  larger  than  it  is  in  women,  and,  fineness 
being  equal,  size  makes  superiority. 

Observations  accumulate  through  ceaseless  attention  and 
experimentation,  when  a  flash  of  genius  binds  them  in  a  consist- 
ent whole  called  discovery.  Work  of  this  kind  has  been  almost 
universally  accomplished  by  men.  It  serves  to  indicate  a  cer- 
tain difference  of  quality  in  the  mental  organization  of  the  oppo- 
site sexes.  The  male  intellect,  in  its  higher  manifestations,  is 
endlessly  striving  to  systematize,  to  discover  the  laws  under 
which  the  world  of  matter  works,  the  connection  between  effect 
and  cause.  In  the  history  of  astronomy,  the  work  of  Sir  Isaac 
Newton  and  of  Laplace  illustrates  this  sort  of  tendency  in  the 
male  organization  of  mind.  Similar  comprehension  of  physical 
laws  led  Adams,  of  England,  and  Leverrier,  of  France,  simul- 
taneously to  the  discovery  of  the  existence  of  the  planet  Neptune, 
unseen  at  that  time.  The  irregularities  in  the  orbit  of  Uranus, 
what  are  called  in  astronomy,  "perturbations"  in  a  planet, 
proved  to  both  of  them  that  some  unseen  body's  approach  to 
Uranus  caused  it  to  act  in  that  way  through  the  attraction  of 
gravitation.  Accordingly,  just  from  the  elements  alone  of  the 


CULTIVATION  OF  THE  MIND.  211 

perturbations,  they  calculated  the  position  that  the  disturbing 
body  must  occupy,  and  it  was  soon  telescopically  recognized  by 
Dr.  Galle,  of  Berlin.  Women  are  too  much  disposed  to  rely  upon 
what  are  called  intuitive  perceptions.  The  fact  is,  however,  that 
they  do  not  belong  exclusively  to  the  female  sex.  They  are  in 
reality  perceptions  of  subconsciousness ;  but  being  derived  from 
loosely-jointed  coherence  of  thought,  men  generally  recognize 
that  they  should  be  subjected  for  examination  to  the  test  of  care- 
ful ratiocination,  whereas  many  women  ascribe  to  them,  al- 
though not  derived  from  close  thought,  the  nature  of  a  superior 
order  of  reason.  In  all  countries  and  ages,  nevertheless,  women 
have  shown  high  capacity  for  the  business  of  life,  in  literature, 
art,  science,  and  governmental  affairs.  The  famous  Bon  Marche, 
of  Paris,  was  founded  by  a  woman.  It  is  one  of  the  greatest 
commercial  establishments  in  the  world.  The  art-pottery  of  Cin- 
cinnati is  the  outcome  of  an  enterprise  begun  by  a  woman  of 
that  city.  Every  great  city  presents  examples  of  similar  capa- 
city. In  the  Book  of  Judges  we  read  that  "Deborah,  a  proph- 
etess, the  wife  of  Lapidoth,  judged  Israel  at  that  time 

the  children  of  Israel  came  up  to  her  for  judgment."  Sapho, 
who  lived  about  six  hundred  years  before  Christ,  was  regarded 
by  the  Greeks,  the  most  cultivated  people  of  antiquity,  as  "the 
poetess,"  just  as  they  called  Homer  "the  poet."  Of  Sapho,  Mr. 
Theodore  Watts,  in  the  article  on  poetry  in  The  Encyclopaedia 
Britannica,  writes:  "Never  before  these  songs  were  sung,  and 
never  since,  did  the  human  soul,  in  the  grip  of  a  fiery  passion, 
utter  a  cry  like  hers ;  and,  from  the  executive  point  of  view,  in 
directness,  in  lucidity,  in  that  high,  imperious  verbal  economy, 
which  only  nature  herself  can  teach  the  artist,  she  has  no  equal, 
and  none  worthy  to  take  the  place  of  second — not  even  in  Heine, 
not  even  in  Burns."  Elsewhere  herein  mentioned,  the  brilliant 
career  of  Pericles,  the  greatest  Greek  of  his  times,  was  influenced 
by  Aspasia.  Zenobia,  the  Queen  of  Palmyra,  is  thus  portrayed 
by  the  historian  Gibbon:  "If  we  except  the  doubtful  achieve- 
ments of  Semiramis,  Zenobia  is  perhaps  the  only  female  whose 


212  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

superior  genius  broke  through  the  servile  indolence  imposed  upon 

her  sex  by  the  climate  and  manners  of  Asia Zenobia 

was  esteemed  the  most  lovely  as  well  as  the  most  heroic  of  her 
sex.  She  was  of  a  dark  complexion  (for  in  speaking  of  a 
Roman  these  trifles  become  important).  Her  teeth  were  of  a 
pearly  whiteness,  and  her  large  black  eyes  sparkled  with  uncom- 
mon fire,  tempered  by  the  most  attractive  sweetness.  Her 
voice  was  strong  and  harmonious.  Her  manly  understanding 
was  strengthened  and  adorned  by  study.  She  was  not  ignorant 
of  the  Latin  tongue,  but  possessed  in  equal  perfection  the  Greek, 
the  Syriac,  and  the  Egyptian  languages.  She  had  drawn  up 
for  her  own  use  an  epitome  of  oriental  history,  and  familiarly 
compared  the  beauties  of  Homer  and  Plato  under  the  tuition 
of  the  sublime  Longinus."  In  the  intervals  of  war,  "her  husband 
passionately  delighted  in  the  exercise  of  hunting;  he  pursued 
with  ardor  the  wild  beasts  of  the  desert,  lions,  panthers,  and 
bears;  and  the  ardor  of  Zenobia,  in  that  dangerous  amusement, 
was  not  inferior  to  his  own.  She  had  inured  her  constitution 
to  fatigue,  disdained  the  use  of  a  covered  carriage,  and  generally 
appeared  on  horseback  in  military  habit,  and  sometimes  marched 
several  miles  on  foot  at  the  head  of  the  troops.  The  success 
of  Odenathus  was,  in  a  great  measure,  ascribed  to  her  incompar- 
able prudence  and  fortitude."  After  the  assassination  of  Oden- 
athus, "she  immediately  filled  the  vacant  throne  and  governed 
with  manly  counsels  Palmyra,  Syria,  and  the  East,  above  five 

years The     steady    administration    of    Zenobia    was 

guided  by  the  most  judicious  maxims  of  policy.  If  it  was  expe- 
dient to  pardon,  she  could  calm  her  resentment ;  if  it  was  neces- 
sary to  punish,  she  could  impose  silence  on  the  voice  of  pity. 
Her  strict  economy  was  accused  of  avarice ;  yet,  on  every  proper 
occasion,  she  appeared  magnificent  and  liberal.  The  neighbor- 
ing states  of  Arabia,  Armenia,  and  Persia  dreaded  her  enmity, 
•  and  solicited  her  alliance."  Defying  the  power  of  the  Emperor 
Aurelian,  and  defeated  in  two  battles,  "Palmyra  was  the  last 
resource  of  the  widow  of  Odenathus.  She  retired  within  the 


CULTIVATION  OF  THE  MIND.  213 

walls  of  her  capital,  made  every  preparation  for  a  vigorous 
resistance,  and  declared,  with  the  intrepidity  of  a  heroine,  that 
the  last  moment  of  her  reign  and  of  her  life  should  be  the  same." 
Aurelian  himself  testified  to  her  wonderful  resolution  in  these 
words:  "The  Roman  people  speak  with  contempt  of  the  war 
which  I  am  waging  against  a  woman.  They  are  ignorant  both 
of  the  character  and  the  power  of  Zenobia.  It  is  impossible 
to  enumerate  her  warlike  preparations  of  stones,  of  arrows,  and 
of  every  species  of  missile  weapons.  Every  part  of  the  walls 
is  provided  with  two  or  three  ballista,  and  artificial  fires  are 
thrown  from  her  military  engines.  The  fear  of  punishment  has 
armed  her  with  a  desperate  courage." 

No  more  interesting  female  character  appears  in  history 
than  the  lately  canonized,  but  often  previously  maligned  Joan 
of  Arc.  She  is  called  the  Maid  of  Orleans,  because  she  was 
instrumental  in  raising  the  siege  of  that  town  in  France,  then 
invested  by  the  English.  Her  real  name  was  Joanneta  Dare, 
corrupted  in  the  course  of  time  to  Jeanne  d'Arc;  in  English, 
Joan  of  Arc.  She  was  a  strongly  religious  country  girl,  of  hardy 
constitution,  and  of  no  beauty  but  that  derived  from  her  expres- 
sion of  noble  mission.  Near  the  forest  of  Doremy  she  tended 
her  father's  sheep,  and  in  solitary  meditation  conceived  the  idea, 
from  a  prophecy  that  France  was  to  be  delivered  from  a  bad 
woman  by  a  chaste  maiden,  that  she  was  to  be  the  predestined 
agent  of  its  rescue.  The  bad  woman  was  the  mother  of  the  Dau- 
phin of  France,  who  himself  was  letting  the  kingdom  go  to  rack 
and  ruin.  Jeanne  d'Arc's  sublime  confidence  in  her  mission  in- 
spired the  French  troops.  She  raised  the  siege  of  Orleans,  cap- 
tured several  places,  and  stood  by  the  Dauphin  as  he  was  crowned 
king  at  Rheims.  Subsequently,  at  Compiegne,  in  defending  the 
town  against  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  ally  of  the  English,  her 
fate  took  a  woeful  turn.  She  was  captured  in  a  sortie  from  the 
town,  sold  to  the  English,  subjected  to  a  trial  as  a  sorceress, 
pardoned  through  treachery,  accused  of  relapse,  and  was  burnt  at 
the  stake  at  Rouen ;  the  King  of  France,  who  owed  his  crown 


214  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

to  her,  having  made  no  attempt  from  beginning  to  end  at  her 
ransom. 

Queen  Elizabeth  of  England  received  a  careful  education. 
Her  tutor,  Roger  Ascham,  extolled  her  for  her  ability,  applica- 
tion, and  powers  of  memory.  Succeeding  to  the  throne  of 
England  in  troublous  times,  in  the  midst  of  war  with  France, 
with  commerce  in  a  languishing  condition,  she,  partly  by  her  own 
energy,  and  partly  by  the  able  counsellors  whom  she  was  wise 
enough  to  choose,  stimulated  and  gratified  the  spirit  of  the  na- 
tion, and  reigned  prosperously  and  gloriously  for  nearly  half  a 
century.  In  her  reign  commerce  revived,  the  naval  supremacy 
of  England  was  established,  and  literature  flourished. 

The  greatest  poetess  of  Italy,  Vittoria  Colonna,  was  born  in 
1490  and  died  in  1547.  Left  a  widow  in  1525,  she  found 
the  chief  consolation  of  her  latter  days  in  the  composition  of 
poems  inspired  by  the  memory  of  her  husband.  During  the 
last  ten  years  of  her  life  she  resided  in  Rome.  Michael  Angelo 
was  her  friend,  and  to  her  were  some  of  his  finest  sonnets 
addressed. 

Mrs.  Mary  Somerville  attained  celebrity  as  a  scholar  in 
the  exact  sciences,  and  is  one  of  the  numerous  instances  of  the 
compatibility  of  intellectual  labor  with  health  and  longevity, 
for  she  lived  to  be  ninety-two  years  of  age.  Her  ability  and 
attainments  were  known  to  competent  judges  before  she  became 
famous.  Laplace,  the  great  French  mathematician  and  astron- 
omer, declared  that  she  was  the  first  woman  who  had  understood 
his  great  work  "La  Mecanique  Celeste"  This  great  work  she 
translated  into  English  under  the  title  of  "The  Mechanism  of  the 
Heavens,"  thereby  securing  for  herself  instant  recognition  of 
her  talents  and  learning.  Subsequently,  she  published  original 
work  of  her  own  on  physical  science. 

The  outlines  of  the  life  of  Hypatia  have  been  rendered 
familiar  to  many  readers  by  the  novel  of  the  same  name,  written 
by  Charles  Kingsley.  Hypatia  was  a  writer  and  lecturer  in 
Alexandria,  Egypt,  upon  the  subjects  of  mathematics  and  phil- 


A 
CULTIVATION  OF  THE  MIND.  215 

osophy,  during  the  last  half  of  the  fourth  century.  Her  beauty, 
enthusiasm,  and  eloquence  attracted  many,  but,  as  an  adherent  of 
paganism,  she  fell  a  victim  to  the  ferocity  of  a  so-called  Christian 
mob. 

Madame  de  Stael,  previously  mentioned  here  in  other  con- 
nections, was  the  most  conspicuous  literary  woman  of  her  time. 
Her  work  on  Germany  was  considered  the  best  account  of  one 
country  by  a  native  of  another  that  had  ever  been  written. 

Jane  Austin,  the  daughter  of  a  country  clergyman,  wrote 
a  number  of  novels  which  depict  every-day  life  of  her  times, 
and  which  are  still  remarkable  for  the  interest  they  excite  in 
characters  described,  although  her  books  were  written  nearly 
a  century  ago.  Sir  Walter  Scott,  expressing  his  admiration  for 
Miss  Austin,  said :  "The  big  bow-wow  strain  I  can  do  myself, 
like  any  now  going,  but  the  exquisite  touch  which  renders  or- 
dinary, commonplace  things  and  characters  interesting,  from  the 
truth  of  the  description  and  the  sentiment,  is  denied  to  me." 
Sir  Walter,  if  he  was  wholly  sincere,  was  too  modest,  and  any- 
how entirely  wrong  so  far  as  his  statement  about  himself  goes. 

The  name  of  Charlotte  Bronte  ought  never  to  be  omitted 
in  mention  of  those  women  who  have  attained  celebrity  in  liter- 
ature. Her  story  of  "Jane  Eyre,"  written  half  a  century  or 
more  ago,  is  still  nearly  as  fresh  as  when  first  published  as  a  novel 
and  then  dramatized. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning  was  known  as  the  most 
distinguished  female  poet  that  England  has  produced.  She 
received  a  good  classical  education,  and  excelled  in  both  lyric 
and  dramatic  forms  of  writing.  She  was  a  conspicuous  example 
of  what  can  be  accomplished  in  the  way  of  work  by  a  decided 
invalid,  for  she  was  always  of  feeble  constitution.  At  the  age 
of  twenty-six  she  was  threatened  with  consumption  by  a  haemor- 
rhage from  the  lungs.  For  seven  years  thereafter  she  led  the 
life  of  a  recluse.  After  her  marriage  to  the  poet,  Browning, 
she  always  resided  in  Italy.  Her  health  received  great  benefit 
by  this  change  from  residence  in  England,  and  her  life  was  pro- 
longed to  her  fifty-second  year. 


2l6  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

Harriet  B.  Martineau  accomplished  much  literary  work 
without  being  a  writer  of  a  high  order.  A  series  of  tales  that 
she  wrote,  to  illustrate  political  economy,  proved  successful. 
She  subsequently  published  similar  tales  dealing  with  English 
taxation,  the  poor  law,  and  the  game  laws.  She  wrote  some 
novels,  books  of  travel,  historical  works,  and  philosophical  es- 
says. She  expressed  her  own  opinion  of  her  intellectual  capacity 
in  the  following  words:  "Her  original  power  was  nothing 
more  than  was  due  to  earnestness  and  intellectual  clearness  within 
a  certain  range.  With  small  imagination  and  suggestive  powers, 
and  therefore  nothing  approaching  to  genius,  she  could  see 
clearly  what  she  did  see,  and  give  a  clear  expression  to  what 
she  had  to  say.  In  short,  she  could  popularize,  while  she  could 
neither  discover  nor  invent."  It  is  impossible  for  one  to  have 
a  more  just  idea  of  oneself  or  of  another  than  is  here  expressed. 
She  had,  moreover,  extraordinary  industry  and  resolution. 
That  one  of  her  books  which  was  most  reprehended  was  that 
which  she  wrote  about  the  United  States,  as  the  outcome  of  a 
visit  to  this  country. 

Marian  Evans,  who  wrote  under  the  pseudonym  of  George 
Eliot,  was  the  most  consummate  writer  of  fiction  among  the 
women  of  her  day.  She  possessed  a  large  fund  of  knowledge 
upon  a  wide  range  of  subjects.  Her  books  describe,  for  the 
most  part,  English  middle-class  country  life.  She  drew  many 
characters  with  so  sure  a  touch  that  they  live  in  the  memory 
as  real  existences. 

In  this  recital  of  the  careers  of  a  few  eminent  women  who 
have  distinguished  themselves  in  various  ways  must  not  be 
omitted  the  name  of  Madame  Curie,  who,  with  her  husband, 
made  lately  the  wonderful  discovery  of  radium,  thereby  revolu- 
tionizing all  previous  conceptions  about  the  constitution  of 
matter. 

The  mass  of  men  and  women  need  merely  the  kind  of  educa- 
tion which  fits  them  for  the  obvious  work  of  life.  Men  are 
necessarily  devoted  to  science  and  business  pursuits.  The  des- 


CULTIVATION  OF  THE  MIND.  217 

tiny  of  women  is  not  so  indissolubly  linked  as  theirs  is  to  such 
objects  of  thought  and  action.  The  sphere  of  women  is  more 
closely  associated  with  the  solidarity  of  the  family,  the  founda- 
tion of  the  civilized  state,  than  with  any  other  line  of  endeavor. 
They  may  or  may  not  be  highly  educated,  but  their  influence 
is  great  as  sisters,  wives,  and  mothers.  What  is  fame  compared 
with  their  silent  influence  ?  Great  men  have  generally  attributed 
their  success  to  their  mother's  training.  Not  all  women  marry; 
some  will  not.  Various  circumstances  prevent  marriage. 
Many  women  are  left  with  dependent  parents  or  near  relations, 
to  whom  they  owe  the  duty  of  protection.  Successful  attempts 
to  regulate  the  destiny  of  women  according  to  a  conventional 
scheme  is  cruel  sacrifice  of  them  to  the  prejudices  of  a  past  time. 
Paganism,  in  which  women  were  lightly  considered,  fell  before 
Christianity;  but  the  practices  of  the  former  in  respect  to  the 
relations  of  the  sexes  have  not  even  yet  been  wholly  obliterated. 
If  a  woman  manifests  a  strong  inclination  towards  a  certain 
career,  no  factitious  obstacles  should  be  placed  in  her  way.  It  is 
irrational  to  aid  her  to  become  a  trained  nurse  and  bar  her 
from  the  study  of  medicine.  Exceptional  individuals  are  rela- 
tively few  in  either  sex.  With  the  vast  majority  of  men  and 
women  occupation  is  determined  by  petty  circumstances.  It  is 
the  small  minority  of  either  sex  that  advances,  or  is  capable  of 
advancing,  to  the  highest  acquirements. 

As  regards  the  physical  effects  of  college  life  upon  the 
health  of  young  women,  a  comparison  of  mortality  statistics, 
collected  by  Mr.  L.  H.  Marrel,  is  instructive.  From  these  it 
appears  that,  during  a  period  of  thirty  years,  only  10.39  per 
cent,  of  the  graduates  of  Mount  Holyoke  Seminary  died,  while 
in  the  same  term  of  years,  only  one  institution  for  men,  Williams 
College,  showed  a  lower  rate,  namely,  10.12  per  cent.  But, 
within  the  same  time,  the  percentage  of  deaths  among  Harvard 
men  was  11.52  per  cent.,  that  among  Yale  men,  13.42  per  cent., 
and  that  among  Dartmouth  men,  16.83  Per  cent-  The 


2l8  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

relating  to  the  colleges  for  men  exclude  persons  who  were  killed 
or  died  of  injuries  or  of  disease  connected  with  the  Civil  War. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  intellectuality  and  longevity 
are  physically  associated  with  each  other.  It  is  not  strange  if 
it  be  so.  The  great  ganglion  of  a  large  and  well-convoluted 
brain  is  an  apparatus  compelling  by  its  possession  to  its  exer- 
cise, and  activity  of  organs  naturally  leads  to  their  health,  im- 
provement, and  duration.  A  few  examples  in  point  of  this 
statement  will  suffice.  Chevreuil,  the  French  chemist,  passed 
his  hundredth  year.  Baron  Liebig,  the  German  chemist,  lived 
until  seventy.  Galileo,  the  great  astronomer,  lived  to  seventy- 
eight.  Flamsteed,  the  English  astronomer,  was  seventy-three 
when  he  died.  Usher,  the  distinguished  ecclesiastic,  lived  to  be 
seventy-six.  Jeremy  Bentham,  the  philosopher,  lived  to  eighty- 
four.  Thomas  Reid,  the  Scotch  metaphysician,  died  at  eighty- 
six.  Leibnitz,  the  mathematician  and  physicist,  died  at  seventy. 
La  Grange,  the  great  mathematician,  lived  to  seventy-seven. 
Laplace,  the  great  astronomer  and  mathematician,  lived  to  sev- 
enty-eight years.  Alexander  von  Humboldt,  physicist,  was 
nearly  ninety  when  he  died.  Goethe,  the  great  poet  and  philoso- 
pher, died  in  his  eighty-third  year.  William  Cullen  Bryant,  poet 
and  journalist,  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-four.  Wieland,  the 
German  writer,  attained  the  age  of  eighty.  Holland's  greatest 
poet,  van  der  Vondel,  lived  to  see  his  ninety-second  year.  Cald- 
eron,  the  most  eminent  dramatist  of  Spain,  reached  eighty-one 
years  of  age.  Metastasio,  the  Italian  poet,  lived  to  eighty-four. 
Lope  de  Vega,  the  prolific  Spanish  dramatist,  lived  to  seventy- 
three.  Daniel  Webster  was  seventy,  and  Henry  Clay  seventy- 
four  when  they  died.  Horace  Binney,  the  eminent  lawyer,  was 
ninety-five  at  the  time  of  his  death.  Benjamin  Franklin  died 
at  over  eighty-four  years  of  age. 

It  is  clearly  shown,  from  the  cases  cited,  to  which  hundreds 
more  might  be  added,  that  intellectual  work  has  no  direct  influ- 
ence upon  impairing  health,  but,  on  the  contrary,  a  tendency 
to  improve  it,  and  lead  to  longevity.  Indirectly,  however,  it 


CULTIVATION  OF  THE  MIND. 

may  affect  the  health  unfavorably;  that  is,  a  too  sedentary 
habit  connected  with  it  may  have  that  consequence.  It  is  for 
the  student  to  see  that  he  does  not  neglect  all  that  hygiene  directs 
in  fresh  air,  water,  food,  exercise.  In  itself,  intellectual  em- 
ployment is  less  tasking  to  its  followers  than  is  commerce. 
There  are  numerous  examples  on  record  where  intense  students 
were  not  unmindful  of  their  body's  welfare.  Such  a  cult  mani- 
fested itself  some  years  ago,  representing  exercise  of  intellectual 
men,  called  muscular  Christianity.  Among  the  Greeks  exercise 
was  never  neglected,  even  among  the  most  intellectually  gifted. 
Alcibiades  competed  successfully  in  the  Olympic  games.  Soc- 
rates has  already  been  mentioned  here  as  soldier  and  athlete. 
Christopher  North,  the  well-known  Scotch  writer,  was  distin- 
guished for  his  athleticism.  Charles  Kingsley,  the  writer,  was 
associated  in  the  minds  of  all  English  readers  with  muscular 
Christianity.  Hundreds  of  instances  could  be  given  of  ancient 
and  modern  intellectual  athletes. 

The  reader  may  ask  himself,  perhaps  has  already  asked 
himself,  what  possible  connection  there  can  be  between  cultiva- 
tion of  the  mind  and  increase  of  beauty.  However,  just  as  there 
is  an  intimate  relation  between  physical  health  and  beauty,  so 
there  is  also  a  similar  one  between  mind  and  beauty.  It  would 
be  preposterous,  it  would  be  falsified  by  common  experience,  to 
claim  that  the  action  of  the  mind  could  change  the  form  of  feat- 
ures. Mirabeau,  the  great  French  orator,  and  Lord  Chesterfield, 
contemporaries,  two  of  the  most  intellectual  and  accomplished, 
as  well  as  two  of  the  ugliest  men  of  their  times,  died  as  ugly  in 
features  as  they  had  lived.  But  has  the  reader  not  come  to 
know  from  observation  that  expression  is  largely  independent 
of  shape  of  features,  and  that  there  are  various  forms  of  beauty, 
such  as  represent  refinement,  distinction,  intellectuality,  nobility 
of  expression  ?  Now,  in  previous  remarks  here  the  fact  has  been 
dwelt  upon,  that  certain  muscles  of  the  face  are  actuated  by 
the  emotions  and  essential  character  of  the  thoughts  and  pas- 
sions of  their  possessor.  Nothing  is  more  plain  to  the  observer 


22O  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

who  has  for  years  witnessed  the  conduct  and  at  the  same  time 
has  been  familiar  with  the  faces  of  many  persons,  that  they  grad- 
ually received  the  impress  of  their  mental  and  moral  attributes  in 
their  expression.  One  must  have  lived  but  a  short  time  not  to 
have  been  convinced  of  this  fact  beyond  a  doubt.  Both  men 
and  women  live,  who  in  early  life  were  extremely  plain,  but 
who,  through  the  growing  influence  in  them  of  refinement  and 
high  mental  and  moral  exercise  of  their  faculties,  have  become 
handsome  in  nobility  of  expression.  Nor  can  any  keen  observer 
have  failed  to  see  that,  if  mental  and  moral  endowments  have 
been  abused,  or  have  not  been  exercised,  even  original  beauty 
has  gone  to  wreck,  or  if  not  that,  loftiness  of  expression,  in  which 
refinement  and  intellectuality  are  combined,  has  never  appeared 
upon  the  face.  One  cannot  look  upon  a  gallery  of  the  portraits 
of  the  great  and  good,  the  great  only,  or  the  good  only,  with- 
out recognizing  that  the  expression  of  worth,  or  whatever  other 
quality  was  possessed  by  the  original,  was,  as  already  said, 
largely  independent  of  the  form  of  features.  In  a  word,  the 
habits  of  refined  association  and  of  study  and  thought  of  the 
higher  order  impress  themselves  finally  upon  the  features.  It 
often  happens  that  the  cultured  man  or  woman  is  far  handsomer 
beyond  middle  age  than  in  the  prime  of  youth,  handsome  with 
a  refinement  or  a  nobility  of  expression  in  which  youth,  writh 
the  finest  features,  may  be  wholly  lacking.  So  potent  are  these 
mental  and  moral  influences  here  discussed,  that  their  opposites 
produce  in  the  finest  features  the  appearance  of  commonness 
or  of  positive  vulgarity. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 
CLOTHING  AND  DRESS. 

CLOTHING  is  regardable  from  three  essentially  different 
points  of  view,  dependent  upon  the  uses  to  which  it  is 
put — as  covering  for  protection  against  cold,  as  covering 
to  conceal  nakedness,  and  as  covering  of  the  partly  or  wholly 
ornamental  sort,  known  as  dress.  If  the  reader  would  like  to 
make  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  philosophy  of  clothes,  in 
the  sense  of  ornamental  human  appendages,  he  cannot  do  so  to 
better  advantage  than  by  reading  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
books  ever  written,  "Sartor  Resartus,"  by  Thomas  Carlyle. 

Among  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans  there  was  not,  for  many 
centuries,  any  change  in  the  fashion  of  dress.  Among  the 
Greeks  the  undergarment  of  women  extended  from  the 
neck  to  the  feet.  It  was  slit  above  and  below,  and  made  of 
a  fullness  represented  by  the  extended  arms  of  the  woman, 
so  that  it  fell  around  the  body  in  numerous  folds.  This  part 
of  the  dress  was  bound  under  the  bosom  by  a  sash,  and  its 
upper  borders  fastened  o,ver  the  shoulders  by  brooches.  The 
arms  were  either  left  entirely  bare,  or  else  were  covered  only 
slightly  by  the  garment  being  allowed  to  fall  a  little  way  over  the 
shoulders  in  the  form  of  a  short  sleeve.  The  garment  being 
wide,  it  could  be,  for  the  sake  of  warmth,  doubled  over  the 
bosom  and  shoulders.  Its  material  was  generally  linen,  but  was 
sometimes  silk.  Hanging  from  the  hips,  a  short  woolen  petti- 
coat was  worn. 

These  pieces  of  clothing  represented  indoor  use.  For  out- 
door service  there  was  thrown  over  the  person  an  article  of 
clothing  somewhat  resembling  a  shawl,  which  was  wrapped 
in  varying  folds  about  it,  and  could  be  drawn  over  the  head 
like  a  hood.  This  wrap  was  worn  in  various  colors,  black  being 
used  for  mourning.  It  was  customary  to  have  the  outer  and 

221 


222  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

inner  robes  of  strongly  contrasting  colors,  and  they  were  often 
embroidered.  The  outer  kind  of  wrap  was  worn  by  men  as  well 
as  by  women.  Another  kind  of  outer  garment  was  worn  by 
young  men,  consisting  of  a  cloak  fastened  over  the  right  shoulder 
by  a  brooch.  Grown  men  wore  no  covering  on  the  head. 
Women's  heads  were  ornamented  with  crowns,  bands,  and  pins. 
They  wore  ear-rings,  finger-rings,  brooches,  bracelets,  and  neck- 
laces. 

The  dress  of  the  Etruscans  was  essentially  like  that  of  the 
Greeks.  But  the  Etruscans  wore  upon  the  head  a  high,  pointed 
hat.  The  outer  garment  of  the  Romans  was  called  the  "toga," 
and  was  not  worn  by  the  youth  of  Rome  until  they  had  attained 
sixteen  years  of  age.  It  was  then  assumed  with  ceremony  by 
the  youth,  as  having  reached  man's  estate,  and  it  was  then 
called  the  toga  virilis — a  man's  dress.  This  consisted  of  a 
width  of  cloth  of  an  elliptical  shape,  wrapped  about  the  body  in 
certain  folds,  forming  a  drapery,  with  the  appearance  of  which 
we  have  become  familiar  through  seeing  ancient  statues.  The 
toga  was  made  of  thin  woolen  cloth,  and  for  citizens  without 
rank  was  always  white.  A  purple  border  on  the  toga  indicated 
that  the  wearer  held  some  official  rank.  The  highest  office  was 
indicated,  on  great  occasions,  by  the  wearing  of  a  purple  toga. 
The  dress  of  the  Roman  ladies  was  like  that  of  the  Greek  ladies. 

The  Anglo-Saxons  wore  a  short,  sleeved  tunic,  bound 
around  the  waist  by  a  girdle.  It  was  of  various  colors,  and  was 
either  plain  or  ornamented,  according  to  the  means  or  the  social 
station  of  the  wearer.  Over  this  article  of  clothing  was  thrown 
by  young  men  a  short  cloak,  and  a  longer  one  by  men  of  more 
advanced  age.  Stockings,  shoes,  boots,  and  sandals  were  worn 
on  suitable  occasions.  The  tunics  of  the  women  were  made 
long,  like  gowns.  Over  these  they  wore  shorter,  wide-sleeved 
tunics,  which  were  often  elaborately  embroidered. 

During  the  eleventh  century,  ladies  of  the  Norman  nobility 
wore  richly  decorated  dresses,  so  long  that  they  swept  the 
ground.  The  sleeves  were  widened  at  the  wrists,  and  cut  so  as 


CLOTHING   AND    DRESS.  223 

to  droop  to  a  point.  In  the  thirteenth  century,  a  loose  tunic 
swept  from  the  throat  nearly  to  the  ankles.  Over  this  garment 
was  a  full-sleeved  dalmatic  or  robe,  secured  around  the  waist  by 
means  of  a  buckled  girdle,  the  whole  costume  being  covered  by 
a  mantle.  During  the  same  period,  the  outer  dress  of  women  of 
high  rank  was  a  long,  loose,  and  flowing  robe  with  full  sleeves 
gathered  in  at  the  wrists,  a  mantle  hanging  from  the  shoulders, 
and  a  purse  from  the  jeweled  waist-girdle.  In  the  fourteenth 
century,  the  Queen  of  Edward  II  wore  richly  embroidered 
dresses  of  cloth  of  gold  or  silver,  adorned  with  jewels.  Others 
were  of  velvet  of  various  colors  and  shot  taffeta.  Others  again, 
were  of  green  cloth  from  Douay,  and  of  rose  satin.  Jackets  with 
the  sides  more  or  less  cut  away,  so  as  to  show  the  dress  beneath, 
were  also  worn  by  ladies  during  that  century,  and  the  dress  of 
the  men  approached  in  magnificence  that  of  the  women.  The 
cut-away  style  of  jacket  remained  a  favorite  female  article  of 
dress  for  nearly  two  hundred  years.  The  dress  of  men  was 
made  to  fit  closely  to  the  person,  their  shoes  were  drawn  out 
into  long  pointed  toes.  In  the  fifteenth  century  dress  was  very 
elaborate.  Men  were  garbed  in  long,  loose  robes,  with  very  wide 
sleeves  and  closely  fitting  tunics,  descending  midway  from 
knee  to  ankle.  Ladies  wore  grotesque  head-dresses,  known  from 
their  various  shapes  as  horned,  mitre,  steeple,  butterfly,  etc.  The 
persistence  of  style  of  dress  in  provincial  communities,  contrast- 
ing strongly  with  the  opposite  condition  among  people  in  touch 
with  all  the  world,  is  illustrated  by  the  present  head-dress  of  the 
women  of  Normandy.  This  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the 
survival  of  the  mode  that  was  the  fashion  five  hundred  years 
ago  among  the  court  ladies.  It  is  a  high,  conical  horror  of  a 
head-dress.  In  the  various  countries  of  Europe,  says  M.  La- 
croix,  a  French  writer,  "we  have  seen,  and  still  see,  entire 
provinces  adhering  to  some  ancient  custom,  causing  them  to  dif- 
fer altogether  from  the  rest  of  the  nation.  This  is  simply  owing 
to  the  fact  of  the  fashion  having  been  obsolete  in  the  neighbor- 
ing places;  for  every  local  costume  faithfully  and  vigorously 


224  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

preserved  in  any  community  at  a  distance  from  the  center  of 
political  action  or  government  must  have  been  brought  there 
by  the  nobles  of  the  country." 

In  the  sixteenth  century  a  distinct  separation  began  to  take 
place  between  mediaeval  and  modern  styles  of  dress;  present 
fashions  may  justly  be  considered  to  have  originated  at  that 
time.  The  clothing  of  men  was  made  to  fit  more  closely  to  the 
person.  Tightly-fitting  dresses  were  adopted  by  the  women.  In 
early  Tudor  times  men  wore  a  long,  loose  garment  with  open 
sleeves  and  a  belt  or  girdle,  above  which  the  coat  was  open, 
a  broad  collar  falling  over  the  shoulders.  Beneath  this  gar- 
ment was  a  vest,  and  beneath  that  a  shirt  showed  at  the  throat, 
appearing  also  at  the  wrists.  Another  style  of  the  same  period 
consisted  of  tightly-fitting  vest  and  hose,  worn  under  an  open 
doublet  with  long  and  loose  sleeves.  The  doublet  was  a  tightly- 
fitting  coat  that  reached  but  a  short  distance  below  the  waist. 
The  hat  was  low-crowned,  broad-brimmed,  and  decorated  with 
plumes.  The  legs  were  clothed  in  two  distinct  coverings,  the 
hose  being  partly  tight  and  plain,  and  partly  puffed,  slashed,  and 
embroidered.  The  upper  part  was  called  hose,  and  the  lower, 
stockings.  At  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  hose  became 
"breeches"  and  hose  gradually  came  to  have  the  limited  meaning 
of  stockings. 

During  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign,  long,  peaked,  and  tight 
"stomachers"  were  worn  by  women,  and  padded  and  quilted 
doublets  by  men.  Large  and  stiff  ruffs  surrounded  the  necks 
of  both  men  and  women.  The  sleeves  of  both  sexes  were  slashed 
and  puffed.  The  outer  skirt  of  women  was  projected  for  some 
distance  from  the  person  by  "farthingales."  Ornaments  were 
very  generally  worn.  About  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury dresses  were  made  high  at  the  waists  and  around  the  hips 
by  means  of  large  padded  rolls,  and  still  more  protruded  by  a 
contrivance  of  padded  whalebone  and  steel.  This  fashion  de- 
veloped into  "panniers,"  which  were  worn  then  for  a  long  time, 
and  which  were  revived  long  afterwards. 


CLOTHING    AND    DRESS.  22$ 

In  the  reign  of  James  I,  noblemen  wore  long,  pointed,  and 
tight  doublets,  slashed  and  padded  trunk-hose,  tapering  to  the 
knees,  where  they  were  tied  by  bowed  ribbons.  Hats  were  tall 
and  conical,  with  the  brim  turned  up  on  one  side.  Shoes  were 
broad,  and  adorned  with  rosettes.  The  farthingales  of  the 
ladies  attained  immense  proportions. 

In  the  reign  of  Charles  I  ladies  wore  wide  sleeves.  They 
were,  however,  tied  at  the  elbows  and  drawn  in  at  the  wrists. 
Dress-bodies  were  tight,  and  were  often  made  long  and  pointed 
in  front.  A  loose  petticoat  was  displayed  beneath  a  loose  open 
gown.  Around  the  throat  was  worn  a  deep-falling  collar. 
Patches,  made  of  black  court-plaster,  began  to  be  worn  upon  the 
face.  This  singular  custom,  introduced  with  the  notion  that, 
by  contrast,  the  black  patches  enhanced  the  beauty  of  the  com- 
plexion, continued  in  vogue  throughout  the  century. 

Charles  II  wore  a  long,  loose  doublet,  richly  laced  and  em- 
broidered, with  large  sleeves;  under  the  doublet  was  a  sleeve- 
less vest.  The  trousers  were  wide  and  gathered  in  at  the  knees 
by  ribbons  and  lace  ruffles,  his  throat  was  encircled  by  a  lace 
collar,  and  his  head  surmounted  by  a  large  wig.  His  hat  was 
broad-brimmed,  with  one  side  turned  up,  and  decorated  with 
plumes.  His  shoes  were  fastened  at  the  instep  with  large  bows. 
A  cloak  completed  the  costume. 

During  the  last  half  of  the  seventeenth  century  men  wore 
long  coats  and  vests.  The  sleeves  were  made  with  broad  cuffs, 
doubling  back  from  the  wrists.  Ladies  wore  rich  satin  petti- 
coats with  long,  trailing  gowns.  During  the  reign  of  William 
III,  small-clothes,  more  vulgarly  known  as  knee-breeches,  were 
introduced  into  England.  In  winter,  men  wore  muffs  suspended 
from  their  necks  with  ribbons,  and  in  summer,  lace-trimmed 
gloves.  Among  women,  long  bodices  and  tight  corsets  were 
fashionable.  Dresses  were  either  gathered  up  at  the  back  or 
drawn  out  into  a  train.  Sleeves  were  tight  and  reached  the  wrists, 
where  they  turned  up  into  cuffs  from  which  issued  lace  ruffles. 
Furbelows  were  fashionable. 

15 


226  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

A  writer  upon  British  costumes  thus  describes  the  dress  of 
noblemen  and  gentlemen  during  the  reigns  of  Queen  Anne  and 
George  I :  "Square-cut  coats  and  long-flapped  waistcoats  with 
pockets  in  them,  the  latter  [waistcoats]  meeting  the  stockings, 
still  drawn  up  over  the  knee  so  high  as  to  entirely  conceal  the 
breeches  (then  made  to  fit  with  comparative  tightness  to  the 
limbs),  but  gartered  below  it;  large  hanging  cuffs  and  lace  ruf- 
fles; the  skirts  of  the  coat  stiffened  out  with  wire  or  buckram, 
from  beneath  which  peeped  the  hilt  of  the  sword,  deprived  of 
the  broad  and  splendid  belt  in  which  it  swung  in  preceding 
reigns ;  blue  or  scarlet  silk  stockings  with  gold  or  silver  clocks ; 
lace  neck-clothes;  square-toed,  short-quartered  shoes,  with  high 
red  heels  and  small  buckles;  very  long  and  formally-curled 
perukes,  black  riding-wigs,  bag-wigs,  and  night-cap  wigs ;  small 
three-cornered  hats  laced  with  gold  or  silver  galoon,  and  some- 
times trimmed  with  feathers."  The  head-dresses  of  the  ladies 
were  either  very  low  or  very  high. 

Soon  after  the  opening  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  hooped 
petticoat  was  introduced.  This  style  came  into  fashion  again 
some  forty  years  ago,  under  the  name  of  crinoline.  At  the 
middle  of  the  century  the  hooped  skirts  became  of  enormous  size. 
Towards  its  close,  ladies'  dresses  were  made  open  in  front  and 
trailing.  Small  hoops  were  then  in  fashion.  A  little  later 
dresses  were  made  short-waisted  and  fell  in  straight  folds  to  the 
feet.  Hoops  and  open  dresses  were  discarded. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  French  Revolution  a  new  style  for 
both  men's  and  women's  dresses  was  adopted  by  French  society. 
Men's  coats  were  made  to  button  at  the  waist,  from  which  point 
they  sloped  away  above  and  below.  Puffing,  lace,  and  embroid- 
ery were  abandoned.  The  breeches  either  stopped  short  at  the 
knee  or  were  carried  a  few  inches  below  it,  where  they  were  but- 
toned and  laced.  A  large  cravat  was  tied  loosely  with  a  bow. 
The  attire  of  women  of  fashion  was  still  more  fanciful.  For 
them  a  hybrid  imitation  of  the  ancient  Greek  costume  was  intro- 
duced. The  bodice  of  the  dress  was  cut  extremely  low,  the  skirt 


CLOTHING    AND    DRESS.  227 

clung  closely  to  the  figure,  the  feet  were  shod  with  sandals,  and 
the  stockings  often  had  toes  corresponding  with  the  fingers  of 
gloves. 

Nowadays,  and  for  a  century  or  more  past,  the  dress  of 
rnen  and  women,  whatever  have  been  the  fluctuations  of  fashion, 
has  been  quite  distinctive.  No  more,  as  in  mediaeval  and  later 
times,  have  men  gone  bedecked  with  laces  and  embroideries, 
these  being  reserved  exclusively  for  members  of  the  other  sex. 
The  dress  of  men  of  all  ranks  has  been  of  extreme  plainness ;  so 
plain,  in  fact,  that  for  some  years  past  there  has  been  an  occa- 
sional prompting  in  society  to  reduce  somewhat  its  extreme  plain- 
ness by  some  modification,  in  aesthetic  interest,  of  its  color  and 
form. 

We  are  accustomed  to  think  of  clothing  as  keeping  us  warm. 
But  clothing  is  not  in  itself  warm,  it  causes  warmth  by  retard- 
ing the  escape  of  heat  from  our  bodies.  The  whole  of  the  heat 
concerned  is  what  is  known  as  the  animal  heat  of  the  body. 
And,  as  has  been  previously  mentioned  here,  this  animal  heat 
is  maintained  at  substantially  the  same  point,  whether  in  the 
tropics  or  in  the  frozen  zones.  At  the  equator  there  is  so  high  an 
atmospheric  temperature  that  there  is  no  need  of  conserving 
the  temperature  of  the  body.  At  the  poles,  it  is  a  matter  of  life 
and  death  to  do  so.  This  being  the  fact,  it  behooves  us  to  know 
what,  in  clothing,  forms  the  best  material  to  help  us  in  adjusting 
our  comfort  to  atmospheric  conditions,  which  include  moisture 
as  well  as  heat  and  cold. 

It  is  of  great  importance  that  clothing,  especially  that 
which  is  worn  next  to  the  body,  should  be  of  such  a  character 
as  to  give  free  action  to  the  skin.  It  should  not  interfere  with 
the  secreting  function  of  the  skin  and  with  the  accessory  breath- 
ing that  goes  on  through  that  tissue.  Certain  bodily  condi- 
tions and  periods  of  life  especially  call  for  the  protection  of 
clothing.  Infants  are  very  sensitive  to  a  low  temperature,  re- 
quiring to  be  warmly  clad.  Those  persons  whose  blood  is  thin, 
who  have  recently  suffered  from  illness,  or  who  are  sedentary 


228  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

in  their  habits,  are  very  sensitive  to  atmospheric  changes,  and 
need  carefully  to  avoid  exposure  to  them.  With  them,  the  pro- 
cesses of  life  are  languid,  as  they  are  also  among  the  aged ;  heat 
is  less  abundantly  generated,  and  this  fact  should  be  recognized 
in  choosing  their  clothing. 

The  substances  from  which  the  material  of  clothing  is  de- 
rived belong  to  both  the  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms. 

Linen  is  made  from  the  inner  bark  of  the  flax-plant.  It 
is  among  the  oldest  of  the  materials  used  for  clothing  and  other 
purposes.  The  plant  is  mentioned  in  the  Book  of  Genesis  as 
grown  in  Egypt  in  the  time  of  the  Pharoahs.  We  read  that 
Solomon  obtained  linen  from  Egypt,  and  Herodotus  mentions 
that,  in  his  time,,  the  linen  trade  of  Egypt  was  large.  'Linen 
formed  a  portion  of  the  dress  of  both  the  Egyptian  and  the 
Hebrew  priests,  and  it  has  been  recognized  in  the  wrappings  of 
mummies.  The  durability  of  the  material  is  mentioned  by  a 
German  writer  who  examined  several  pieces  of  it  among  the 
wrappings  of  a  mummy,  and  remarked  that  this  "venerable 
linen  which  had  been  woven  for  more  than  seventeen  hundred 
years  was  washed  without  injury."  Mention  of  purple  and  fine 
linen,  as  sumptuous  wear,  comes  to  us  from  the  Old  Testament. 
Tyrian  purple  dye  was  celebrated  all  around  the  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean. 

A  great  variety  of  dress-goods  comes  to  us  from  linen. 
Lace,  cambric,  and  lawn  are  among  them.  The  beautiful  smooth- 
ness of  linen  adapts  it  well,  where  there  is  great  heat,  but  not 
much  moisture,  for  wearing  next  the  skin.  It  has  the  disadvan- 
tage for  that  wear  of  being  what  is  called  hygroscopic,  sus- 
ceptible to  moisture;  and  if  moisture  be  prevalent  and  coolness 
in  the  atmosphere  suddenly  succeeds  heat,  it  becomes  cold  and 
clammy.  It  is  an  excellent  conductor  of  heat,  and  that  is  the 
reason  why  linen  sheets  are  so  delightful  in  summer.  They 
remove  the  heat  from  the  body.  For  these  reasons,  linen  is 
a  good  summer  bed-clothing,  good  for  outer  garments  in  hot 
climates,  but  bad  for  underclothes  in  hot  and  damp  places  liable 


CLOTHING    AND    DRESS. 

to  sudden  changes  in  temperature.  Its  fiber  is  entirely  different 
from  that  of  cotton.  Looked  at  with  a  high-power  microscope, 
it  is  perceived  to  consist  of  smooth  threads,  whereas  those  of 
cotton  are  fuzzy. 

Cotton  cloth  is  manufactured  from  the  fluffy  contents  of  the 
pod  of  the  cotton-plant.  The  art  of  spinning  and  weaving  it  into 
cloth  is  one  of  great  antiquity.  In  India  the  plant  has  been 
cultivated  and  the  cloth  manufactured  from  beyond  the  earliest 
times  of  which  we  have  any  record.  In  Egypt,  also,  cotton 
cloth  was  made  at  a  very  early  period.  The  Romans  obtained  it 
from  India,  but  made  very  little  use  of  it  for  purposes  of  dress. 
According  to  the  testimony  of  travelers,  some  tribes  of  the  inte- 
rior of  Africa  practice  the  art  of  spinning  and  weaving  cotton. 
The  East  Indies,  although  using  crude  machinery,  produce 
beautifully  fine  muslins.  It  has  been  found  in  the  tombs  of 
the  ancient  Peruvians.  It  is  a  very  soft,  pliable  material,  and  lacks 
the  smoothness  and  finish  of  linen.  It  does  not  absorb  moisture 
nearly  so  easily  as  does  linen,  and  is  therefore  generally  much 
better  fitted  for  underwear  than  linen  is. 

Silk  is  (except  the  limited  quantity  from  certain  spiders) 
the  product  of  the  mulberry-leaf-eating  silkworm.  In  spinning 
their  cocoons,  the  silkworms  emit  from  their  spinnerets  a  fine 
thread  of  a  viscid,  tenacious  kind.  This  is  known  as  raw  silk. 
According  to  the  literature  of  China  the  silk  industry  began 
there  about  twenty-six  hundred  years  before  the  Christian  era. 
Later,  attention  was  directed  to  the  cultivation  of  the  white 
mulberry,  which  is  the  usual  food  of  the  worms.  They  will, 
however,  eat  other  food,  even  lettuce,  in  an  emergency.  The 
secrets  of  the  art  were  so  jealously  guarded  in  China,  thaf  it  was 
not  until  A.  D.  300  that  silk  was  introducd  into  Japan,  and  at  a 
subsequent  period  into  India.  Among  the  Greeks,  Aristotle 
was  the  first  writer  to  make  mention  of  silk.  The  Greeks  had 
obtained  knowledge  of  it  through  the  Persians  and  the  Phoeni- 
cians. About  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era  it  became  gen- 
erally known,  and  was  highly  prized  as  a  material  for  dress. 


230  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

The  Emperor  Justinian,  of  the  Byzantine  Empire,  made  great 
efforts  to  introduce  silk  culture  into  his  dominions,  and  he  mon- 
opolized the  manufacture,  establishing  looms,  operated  by 
women,  within  the  imperial  palace  at  Constantinople.  At  a  later 
period  the  cultivation  of  silk  was  carried  on  by  the  Saracens, 
and  gradually  spread  to  Italy  and  other  European  countries. 
Repeated  attempts  have  been  made  by  Great  Britain  and  by  the 
United  States  to  introduce  silk  culture  within  their  dominions, 
but  without  marked  success.  The  cheapness  alone  of  labor  in 
China  would  seem  to  place  an  insuperable  barrier  to  its  success- 
ful cultivation  by  either  of  these  states. 

More  than  half  of  the  silk  thread,  as  it  comes  from  the 
cocoon,  is  composed  of  a  substance  similar  in  constitution  to  hair, 
nail,  or  horn.  It  is  a  brilliant,  soft,  white,  or  slightly  golden 
substance  covered  with  a  gelatinous  matter  known  as  silk-albu- 
men. The  fiber  of  silk  is  round  and  soft.  It  is  a  bad  conduc- 
tor of  heat  and  absorbs  less  moisture  than  cotton  does.  On 
account  of  its  softness,  smoothness,  dryness,  and  warmth,  it  is 
very  well  adapted  to  underwear.  It  is,  however,  a  non-conductor 
of  electricity,  and  for  that  reason  will  sometimes  so  disturb  the 
electrical  condition  of  the  skin  as  to  cause  itching  and  eruptions. 

Wool  is  an  excellent  material  for  both  outer  and  under- 
wear. It  is  a  very  poor  conductor  of  heat,  which  property,  there- 
fore, renders  it  appropriate  for  winter  clothing.  .Although  the 
loose  texture  of  woolen  cloth  allows  it  to  absorb  considerable 
moisture,  the  following  evaporation  is  so  gradual  that  the  chill 
produced  by  damp  linen  under  the  same  circumstances  is  not 
occasioned.  Therefore  light  woolen  material  is  very  suitable 
for  summer  underwear  and  heavy  woolen  material  for 
winter  underwear  and  overwear.  For  the  summer,  it  may 
be  reduced  for  underwear  to  the  thin  fabric  known  in  gauze 
undershirts,  and  in  the  winter  increased  to  heavy  merino. 
Whenever  persons  can  afford  it,  it  is  comfortable  to  have  three 
grades  of  weight  for  underwear.  As  wool  is  a  substance  similar 
to  hair,  it  forms  a  rough  material  for  underclothing  in  compari- 


CLOTHING    AND    DRESS.  23! 

son  with  linen,  silk,  or  cotton.  Without  any  admixture  with 
cotton  it  is  irritant  to  the  skins  of  some  persons,  they  not  being 
able  to  tolerate  at  all  wool  next  to  the  body.  This  depends, 
however,  largely  upon  the  quality  of  the  manufacture.  We 
knew  a  case  once  where  a  man,  having  to  be  exposed  to  the 
weather  on  an  extremely  cold  day,  bought  and  put  on  a  pair  of 
the  roughest  kind  of  long  woolen  stockings,  and  at  nightfall 
found  his  legs  covered  from  knees  to  ankles  with  a  bright  erup- 
tion. This  in  an  extreme  case,  the  excellence  of  modern  manu- 
facture obviating  such  experiences  now.  Wool,  like  silk,  being  a 
non-conductor  of  electricity,  somewhat  affects  the  electrical  con- 
dition of  the  skin. 

The  most  valuable  wool  is  obtained  from  the  Thibetan  goat. 
This  is  the  fiber  from  which  cashmere  shawls  are  made.  The 
wool  called  merino,  largely  used  for  underwear,  was  originally 
the  finest  in  Europe.  It  was  derived  from  a  kind  of  Spanish 
sheep.  But  the  Spaniards  neglected  to  maintain  the  excellence 
of  the  breed,  and  the  source  of  merino  wool  is  now  the 
old  stock  in  Austria,  Saxony,  and  Silesia.  A  useful  wool  is 
obtained  from  the  alpaca,  a  native  animal  of  the  Andes.  Alpaca 
wool  has  a  peculiarly  bright  and  lustrous  appearance.  The 
Indians  of  Peru  and  Chili  have,  from  time  immemorial,  known 
how  to  make  blankets  and  cloaks  from  the  alpaca  hair.  Mohair 
is  a  fine,  soft,  pure  white  wool  derived  from  the  Angora  goat  of 
Asia  Minor. 

Hair  and  wool  are  frequently  made  into  felt.  This  is,  for 
dress  purpose,  used  for  hats,  bonnets,  and  padding,  but  cloaks 
have  also  been  made  of  felt.  It  is  manufactured  by  means  of 
compressing  moistened  hair  or  wool.  In  connection  with  the 
description,  in  a  former  chapter,  of  the  constitution  and  form 
of  hair,  it  was  mentioned  that,  along  the  shafts  of  hair,  it  is 
jagged.  When,  therefore,  a  mass  of  moistened  hair  is  put  under 
heavy  pressure,  the  jagged  edges  form  so  close  an  interlacing 
of  the  shafts  that,  without  weaving,  the  cloth  is  produced  which 
is  known  as  felt. 


232  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

The  tanned  skins  of  animals  (leather)  are  used  for  cover- 
ings for  the  hands  and  feet.  The  mode  of  tanning  seems  to  have 
been  known  in  prehistoric  times.  The  skin  of  animals  is  con- 
verted into  leather  by  the  action  of  any  bark  which  contains 
the  principle  known  as  tannin.  Tannin  enters  into  chemical  com- 
bination with  the  elements  of  the  skin,  with  the.  consequence  that 
decomposition  of  the  skin  is  arrested.  In  mediaeval  Europe 
leather  was  used  as  a  suit  beneath  the  iron  armor  of  the  knights. 
Leather  is  still  employed  for  many  purposes  of  dress,  such  as 
shoes,  gloves,  belts,  leggings,  gaiters. 

Fur,  the  skin  of  certain  animals  with  the  attached  hair,  is 
used  for  hats,  coats,  muffs,  and  gloves.  These  are  highly  es- 
teemed for  their  warmth,  and  in  many  cases  for  their  beauty 
also.  In  rigorous  climates  fur  hats  and  coats  are  a  necessity. 
The  skins  are  carefully  cleansed  and  washed  in  a  solution  of 
alum  and  water  before  they  can  be  made  into  garments.  It  has 
been  sometimes  objected  to  both  leather  and  fur  that  they  pre- 
vent free  transpiration  of  the  skin,  hindering  its  activity,  and 
also  the  evaporation  of  its  waste-products.  While  this  is  true, 
it  is,  nevertheless,  also  true  that  these  articles  of  clothing  being 
worn  only  outdoors,  the  objectionable  features  are  easily  over- 
come by  increased  attention  to  bathing.  At  any  rate,  their  ad- 
vantages in  severe  weather  are  largely  in  excess  of  their  defects. 

Drygoods  are  dyed  of  various  colors  and  shades  of  colors 
to  make  them  attractive  to  the  largest  number  of  tastes.  Colors, 
however,  have  also  relation  to  the  warmth  of  garments.  Black 
absorbs  more  external  heat  than  white  does.  If  one  put  pieces 
of  cloth  of  the  same  size,  of  different  colors,  varying  from  black 
to  white,  on  a  bank  of  snow,  he  will  find  that  they  sink  in  the 
snow  just  in  proportion  to  their  darkness.  This  is  Dr.  Frank- 
lin's proof.  Of  course,  in  the  experiment,  the  goods  must  all 
be  made  of  the  same  material.  White  reflects  heat-rays  as  well 
as  light-rays  of  the  sun,  and  is  therefore  cool  in  summer  and 
warm  in  winter.  The  polar  bear  wears  a  white  coat,  because  it 
retains  best  the  heat  generated  by  the  animal.  In  hot  weather, 


CLOTHING    AND    DRESS.  233 

white  opposes  a  barrier  to  the  passage  to  the  body  of  external 
heat;  and  in  cold  weather  it  checks  the  loss  of  that  which  is 
produced  by  the  body. 

Underwear  should,  whenever  convenient,  be  removed  at 
night  and  replaced  by  other  underwear  of  similar  weight  and 
texture.  That  which  has  been  worn  during  the  day  has  imbibed 
the  secretions  from  the  body  and  should  be  hung  up  where  it 
can  be  purified  by  the  air.  This  precaution  is,  more  particularly 
than  at  any  other  time,  to  be  taken  in  summer,  because  the  skin 
is  then  more  active  than  at  any  other  time.  In  fact,  whenever 
circumstances  permit  of  it,  it  is  good  practice  in  summer  to 
change  the  underclothing  at  any  time  during  the  day,  if  it  shall 
have  become  saturated  with  perspiration.  Of  course,  this  is  not 
practicable  for  persons  whose  occupations  keep  them  away  from 
home  from  morning  until  night. 

Inferior  underclothing  often  produces  disease  of  the  skin. 
This  consequence  may  be  owing  either  to  the  texture  of  the 
cloth  or  to  a  dye.  Such  flannel  underwear  may  give  rise  to  a 
diffuse  inflammation  of  the  skin,  known  as  erythema,  which  is 
attended  with  heat  and  itching.  It  may  give  rise  to  eczema  or 
to  pruritis,  itching.  Colored  stockings,  dyed  with  impure,  irri- 
tating substances,  often  occasion  severe  and  extensive  disease  of 
the  skin.  It  has  been  experimentally  proved  that  the  microbes 
which  excite  disease,  deposited  with  dust  upon  the  underwear, 
can  penetrate  its  interstices  and  reach  the  skin.  In  this  fact  alone 
we  find  good  reason  why  undergarments  should  be  frequently 
changed. 

It  is  always  important  that  the  feet  should  be  kept  warm  and 
dry.  If  a  person  has  been  caught  in  a  storm  and  for  a  long  time 
had  wet  and  cold  feet,  he  should,  immediately  upon  reaching  home, 
immerse  his  feet  for  a  few  minutes  in  warm  water,  dry  them  care- 
fully, and  put. on  fresh  shoes  and  stockings.  No  greater  sense 
of  comfort  can  be  produced,  and  no  better  security  against  taking 
cold  could  be  adopted.  Orientals  wear  sandals,  as  was  also  the 
practice  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  although  the  ancients  did 


234  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

make  use  of  shoes,  and  even  of  boots,  on  occasions.  The  use  of 
sandals  necessitated,  and  at  the  same  time  rendered  easy,  the 
habit  of  frequent  washing  of  the  feet.  The  Indians  of  this  con- 
tinent wore,  in  the  form  of  the  moccasin,  something  quite  as 
light  as  any  sandal  ever  was.  Cold  feet  are  a  cause  of  general 
bodily  disturbances.  They  interfere  with  the  circulation  of  the 
blood  and  give  rise  to  headache.  Physicians  sometimes  find  it 
useful  when  a  patient  has  a  flushed  face  and  blood-shot  eyes,  to 
apply  cold  to  the  head  and  heat  to  the  feet,  thus  relieving  the 
brain  of  its  surplusage  of  blood.  Many  young  girls  suffer  from 
cold  feet.  The  quality  of  their  blood  is  poor,  their  circulation 
languid.  They  love  overheated  rooms,  and  are  averse  to  exer- 
cise. The  circulation  in  the  feet  may  be  stimulated  by  dipping 
them  for  an  instant  in  cold  water  and  then  briskly  rubbing  them 
with  a  towel,  or  by  the  use,  alternately,  of  hot  and  cold  water; 
or  by  bathing  them  in  mustard  and  water,  or  in  salt  and  water. 
There  are  a  number  of  drugs  that  are  administered  with  the 
view  of  removing  such  a  lack  of  tone  as  that  here  indicated,  but 
it  is  preferable  to  remove  it  by  means  of  physical  exercise. 

Shoes  are  a  great  protection.  They  protect  the  feet  from 
rough,  hard,  and  sharp  objects  that  might  bruise  or  wound  them. 
A  neatly-fitting  shoe  is  attractive  for  either  sex.  A  woman  well- 
gloved  and  well-shod  is  well  dressed  if  her  clothes  are  only,  how- 
ever plain,  reasonably  well-made  and  clean.  Men  are  generally 
fond  only  of  comfort  and  of  elegance  of  manufacture  in  footwear, 
but  great  numbers  of  women  are  given  to  the  practice  of  wear- 
ing shoes  a  size  or  more  too  small  for  them.  This  wearing  of 
shoes  too  small,  especially  if  they  be  propped  on  high  heels,  is 
very  deforming  to  the  feet.  An  old  gentleman  tells  the  story 
that,  at  the  time  when  people  of  both  sexes  went  in  the  water 
at  Atlantic  City  barefoot,  he  one  day  walked  along  the  beach 
there  at  bathing  time,  and  did  not  find,  out  of  about  two  thousand 
specimens,  more  than  half  a  dozen  handsome  feet  among  the 
women,  so  injured  were  they  by  the  habit  of  wearing  shoes  that 
were  narrow  and  stubby.  The  day  was,  and  not  so  many  years 


CLOTHING    AND    DRESS.  235 

ago,  when  shoe-making,  as  a  manufacture,  was  so  imperfect, 
in  comparison  with  the  excellence  which  it  has  reached  nowa- 
days, that  even  shoes  made  to  order  fitted  so  imperfectly  that 
they  had  to  be  "broken  in"  in  the  house,  before  one  ventured 
into  the  streets  with  them.  Now,  their  manufacture  has  reached 
perfection ;  a  ready-made  shoe  can  be  got  nearer  to  a  fit  for  the 
customer  than  he  is  likely  to  get  one  made  to  order.  The  sys- 
tem regulating  sizes  by  the  combination  of  numbers  and  letters 
secures  a  fit  for  anything  but  extraordinary  deviations  from  the 
normal  range  of  feet. 

If  people  generally  would  only  come  to  realize,  in  younger 
days,  how  improper  footwear  then  worn,  brings  about  suffering 
in  middle  and  old  age,  they  would  be  more  prudent.  There  is 
nothing  more  miserable  than  the  grinding  pain  from  large  corns 
and  bunions.  An  old  lady  of  our  acquaintance  used  to  say 
when  she  found  one  of  her  own  sex  particularly  cross  and  dis- 
agreeable, "Oh,  poor  thing,  her  feet  hurt  her."  Corns  on  or  be- 
tween the  toes,  or  still  worse,  upon  the  soles  of  the  feet,  are 
brought  about  by  tight  or  by  ill-fitting  shoes.  Bunions,  coming 
from  inflammation  of  a  joint  of  the  foot,  are  invariably  pro- 
duced by  shoes  that  have  been  worn  too  tight.  Tender  feet 
must  be  ranked  among  the  miseries  of  life.  To  the  man  or 
woman  who  becomes  troubled  with  sore  feet,  walking  is  a  pain- 
ful art.  We  have  known  people  who  were  veritable  martyrs 
to  former  vanity.  And  painful  feet  are  not  without  unpleasant 
effect  upon  the  expression  of  the  face.  The  combination  of 
too  short,  too  narrow,  and  too  high-heeled  shoes  is  certain  to 
lead  to  disfigurement  of  the  foot  and  eventually  to  much  suffer- 
ing. And  besides  all  this,  the  disfigurement  and  suffering  are 
in  vain  for  securing  the  object  that  is  sought.  No  one  is  de- 
ceived as  to  the  size  of  a  foot  by  seeing  it  in  a  shoe  too  small. 
On  the  contrary,  its  being  so  placed  calls  attention  to  the  fact. 
Nothing  in  the  way  of  vanity  can  be  more  egregiously  unsuc- 
cessful. Even  if  it  were  successful,  it  would  be  a  failure.  A  dis- 
proportionately small  foot  is  not  an  attribute  of  beauty,  but  a 


236  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

physical  defect.  Even  an  instep  may  be  so  high  as  to  be  as  ugly 
as  a  flat  foot.  It  may,  and  sometimes  does,  make  the  foot  look 
like  a  hoof. 

Tight  garters  impede  the  circulation  of  the  leg.  The  leg 
ought  always  to  be  gartered  above  the  knee.  In  old  times  the 
leg  was  generally  gartered  below  the  knee.  Now  many  people 
have  grown  wiser.  The  blood,  of  course,  always  gravitates 
towards  the  lower  extremities  of  the  body.  This  ought  to  be 
evident  to  everybody  if  it  be  observed  that,  in  standing  or  walk- 
ing for  a  long  time,  the  feet  become  larger,  sometimes  quite 
swollen.  Now,  as  in  the  process  of  circulation  of  the  blood,  it 
should  be  returning  constantly  to  the  heart,  it  ought  to  be  evi- 
dent that  a  constriction  of  the  leg  by  the  garter  adds  to  the 
difficulty  of  the  blood's  return  from  the  feet,  already  tending 
by  force  of  gravitation  to  settle  there.  The  presence  of  a  quan- 
tity of  sluggish  and  non-aerated  blood  in  the  veins  of  the  leg 
and  foot  tends  in  winter  to  produce  chilblains,  from  which 
many  persons  suffer  year  after  year.  The  impediment,  more- 
over, causes  these  veins  to  become  engorged,  distended,  and  tor- 
tuous. This  is  the  ailment  known  as  the  condition  of  varicose 
veins,  which  is  a  starting-point  for  other  diseases.  The  veins 
of  the  extremities  contain  valves,  placed  at  short  intervals  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  permit  the  passage  of  the  blood  towards 
the  heart,  but  to  prevent  its  reflux.  By  this  simple  and  beau- 
tiful mechanical  arrangement  the  column  of  blood  is  aided  in 
its  ascent.  If,  however,  the  veins  are  habitually  engorged  and 
distended,  the  valves,  in  the  course  of  time,  break  down,  and  the 
circulation  becomes  torpid,  the  nutrition  of  the  skin  is  defective, 
and  it  may  eventually  become  the  seat  of  eczema  or  of  an 
ulcer.  All  this  train  of  consequences  has  been  known  to  follow 
the  use  of  tight  garters. 

There  has  never  been  a  time  since  the  invention  of  the 
corset  when  well-instructed  men  and  women  have  not  inveighed 
against  the  tight  corset  for  any  but  its  legitimate  use  in  sup- 
porting the  bust.  Its  abuse  is -one  of  the  most  perverse  prac- 


CLOTHING   AND   DRESS.  237 

tices  of  which  a  portion  of  the  female  world  has  ever  been  guilty. 
One  thing  alone  would  seem  to  have  been  an  ample  deterrent, 
that  members  of  the  opposite  sex,  for  whom  women  mostly  pre- 
pare their  toilets,  do  not  like  excessively  small  waists.  Such 
waists  are  to  them  significant  of  imperfect  physical  organization 
and  health,  and  some  men  almost  shudder  at  the  sight.  There  is 
one  thing,  and  only  one  thing,  that  could  have  cured  the  whole 
world  of  tight-lacers  of  their  abominable  practice.  That  is, 
however,  what  only  a  small  fraction  of  them  ever  see.  It  is  the 
skeletons,  in  anatomical  museums,  of  women  who  had  been  ad- 
dicted to  tight  lacing.  If  the  whole  world  of  women,  instead 
of  only  a  few  of  them,  had  ever  seen  these  malformed  objects, 
with  the  lower  ribs  permanently  crushed  in,  presenting  the  great- 
est possible  contrast  to  the  figure  of  a  well-developed  form,  never 
again  would  they  have  indulged  in  tight  lacing.  Tight  lacing 
means  dislodgment  of  internal  organs,  and  circulation  of  the 
blood  and  free  breathing  impeded.  The  blood  is  imperfectly 
purified,  the  heart's  action  greatly  diminished,  becoming  irregu- 
lar and  feeble,  and  the  nutrition  of  all  the  important  organs  and 
tissues  suffers.  The  person  addicted  to  this  practice  becomes 
pale,  is  subject  to  palpitation  of  the  heart,  and  not  infrequently 
to  fainting  fits.  Happily  for  the  fashionable  world  this  wretched 
practice  has  sensibly  decreased.  Two  or  three  generations  ago, 
it  was  so  prevalent  that  scarcely  a  large  ball  took  place  when 
some  woman  did  not  faint  and  the  cry  arise,  "Cut  her  stays,  has 
any  one  smelling-salts?"  In  tight  lacing  the  stomach  is  dis- 
turbed by  the  pressure  that  prevents  its  expansion  after  eating, 
and  flatulence  occurs.  The  gas  in  the  abdomen  presses  it 
upward  against  the  diaphragm,  the  muscular  partition  that  sep- 
arates the  cavity  of  the  chest  from  that  of  the  abdomen.  The 
apex  of  the  heart,  a  somewhat  conical  organ,  rests  upon  the  dia- 
phragm, and  when  the  diaphragm  is  raised  by  the  pressure  of 
the  gas,  palpitation  of  the  heart  is  occasioned.  A  species  of 
blood-poisoning  takes  place,  from  interruption  of  natural  pro- 
cesses; the  complexion  loses  its  bloom,  and  the  face  gradually 


238  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

acquires  a  pasty  hue.  Some  or  all  of  these  heavy  penalties  are 
sure  to  follow  persistent  tight  lacing. 

Although  a  comparatively  unimportant  article  of  dress,  as 
but  slightly  related  to  health,  the  veil  is  not  without  interest  in 
relation  to  both  health  and  appearance.  The  veil  has  been  worn 
from  time  immemorial  in  one  form  or  another.  At  the  present 
time  women  are  fond  of  wearing  short  veils  hanging  from  the 
hat,  and  very  many  of  these  are  spotted.  They  are,  as  a  general 
rule,  becoming;  but  when  spotted,  care  should  be  taken  in 
adjusting  them.  Within  a  very  few  weeks  we  happened  to  see 
two  cases  in  which  the  careless  adjustment  of  the  spots  pro- 
duced an  effect  far  from  that  contemplated  by  either  of  the  fair 
wearers,  for  both  were  really  fair.  In  the  first  case,  a  black  spot 
on  the  veil  came  so  exactly  opposite  one  of  the  eye-teeth,  that  the 
tooth  seemed,  at  the  distance  of  six  feet,  to  be  absent.  In  the  sec- 
ond case,  two  large  white  spots  so  exactly  corresponded  in 
position  with  both  eye-teeth  that  the  effect  produced  was  ex- 
actly that  of  two  great  fangs.  Take  it  altogether,  most  women 
are  improved  in  appearance  by  a  light  fabric  of  a  veil.  Babies, 
when  taken  out  in  their  coaches,  lying  flat  on  their  backs,  should 
be  shielded  by  parasols  in  the  summer-time,  and  in  winter  by 
veils ;  but  sometimes  the  veils  used  for  this  purpose  seem  almost 
too  thick.  It  stands  to  reason  that  if  a  veil  for  any  person 
reaches  below  the  mouth,  where  it  is  necessarily  breathed 
through,  its  cleanliness  should  be  strictly  guarded  in  these  bac- 
terial times. 

The  weight  of  a  person's  clothes  and  the  fabric  should  be 
suited  to  occupation.  Men  of  active  bodily  habits  and  vigorous 
circulation  generate  heat  rapidly  and  do  not  need  clothes  so 
heavy  as  do  those  of  opposite  constitution.  It  is  a  mistake  for 
one  of  vigorous  constitution  to  bundle  himself  up  with  a  great 
weight  of  clothes  in  winter ;  that  reduces  the  generation  of  ani- 
mal heat.  Persons  who  shiver  with  the  least  cold,  who  muffle 
themselves  up,  render  themselves  valetudinarians.  Winter 


CLOTHING    AND    DRESS.  1239 

underclothing  should  be  warm,  and  outer  clothing  sufficiently 
thick  to  prevent  heat  from  being  lost  more  quickly  than  it  can 
be  supplied  by  the  body.  With  experience,  every  one  should  be 
able  to  find  out  exactly  the  amount  of  clothing  desirable  for  him 
personally.  It  would  not  be  safe  for  the  citizen  to  go  about  with 
the  bare  knees  of  the  Scotch  Highlander  or  the  bare  neck  of  the 
sailor. 

In  these  last  cases  mentioned  is  indicated  the  influence  of 
bodily  habit  in  exposure  to  weather.  The  most  remarkable  of 
any  known  in  that  respect  is  the  case  of  the  Patagonians.  Sir 
Erasmus  Wilson  quotes  an  account  of  the  Indians  of  Terra 
del  Fuego,  who  wear  a  "small  piece  of  seal-skin  which  they 
hang  upon  the  shoulder  next  the  wind.  Their  climate  is  much 
colder  than  that  of  North  Britain,  no  season  being  quite  free 
from  frost.  In  the  month  of  March,  when  the  thermometer 
stood  at  forty-six  degrees,  an  infant  about  a  week  old  lay  in 
the  bottom  of  one  of  their  canoes  quite  naked ;  and  little  children 
were  seen?  quite  naked,  capering  on  the  beach,  although  the 
thermometer  was  at  forty  degrees." 

Notwithstanding  their  superior  physical  hardihood,  savages 
possess  no  charm  whereby  they  can  resist  temperature  of  twenty, 
thirty,  fifty  degrees  below  zero.  The  Eskimo  and  the  tribes  of 
Northern  Sibera  encounter  these  low  temperatures,  but  their 
dress  of  furs  and  their  peculiar  dwellings  protect  them  from 
extinction  by  cold.  The  bare-kneed  Highlander  and  the  bare- 
necked sailor  are  temporarily  acclimated  to  cold.  It  is  a  well- 
known  fact,  that  men  may  go  out  from  the  heart  of  civilization 
and  swelter,  or  live  in  the  open,  in  camp  or  otherwise,  ex- 
posed to  a  lower  temperature  than  that  to  which  they  have  been 
accustomed,  and  become  so  inured  to  it  as  to  suffer  no  incon- 
venience, but  that  when  they  return  to  heated  houses  they  invari- 
ably have  bad  colds. 

For  ordinary  purposes  the  hands  do  not  need  gloves  in  tem- 
perate climates.  The  Greeks  did  not  use  gloves  except  for  pro- 


24O  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

tection  of  the  hands  in  certain  kinds  of  labor.  They  are  used  at 
the  present  day  for  the  same  purpose  by  ladies  fond  of  gardening. 
When,  in  the  middle  ages,  the  knights  fought  in  armor,  the  iron 
gauntlet  was  part  of  the  coat-of-mail.  Throwing  down  the 
gauntlet  became  then  a  symbol  of  defiance,  and  wearing  a  lady's 
glove  on  the  armor  one  of  championship.  Gloves  of  skins 
finally  became  worn  in  Europe  generally.  They  were  put  upon 
the  hands  of  Henry  II,  John,  and  Edward  I,  when  they  were 
buried.  In  the  fourteenth  century  they  were  habitually  worn 
in  England  among  the  well-to-do  class  of  people.  During  the 
reign  of  Charles  II  the  style  prevailed  of  wearing  short-sleeved 
dresses  and  gloves  reaching  almost  to  the  elbow.  The  glove 
has  had  a  sentimental  significance  through  the  age  of  chivalry 
down  to  the  present  time.  Schiller's  poem  of  "The  Glove"  is 
well  known.  In  the  reign  of  Robert  III,  of  Scotland,  the  handi- 
craft of  glove-making  was  chartered  in  the  city  of  Perth. 

Women  at  large  show  certainly,  more  than  men  at  large,  sus- 
ceptibility in  dress  to  beauty  of  color,  grace  in  drapery,  and 
harmony  of  general  effect.  Yet  the  fact  cannot  be  ignored  that 
there  are  exceptional  men  superior  to  them  in  designing  and 
executing  fashions.  To  be  convinced  of  this  one  has  only  to 
look  around  at  tailor-made  costumes,  at  what  takes  place  in 
Paris,  and  at  the  uncontested  supremacy  of  Worth. 

While  it  is  true  that  the  style  of  a  season  may  be  a  mere 
modification  of  that  of  the  preceding  one,  it  not  infrequently 
happens  that  a  new  style  is  a  sharp  departure  from  the  prevalent 
one.  People  get  tired  of  sameness  in  the  course  of  time.  Yet, 
some  of  the  discarded  fashions  are  so  intrinsically  becoming  that 
they  are  sure,  after  a  certain  interval  of  time,  to  be  revived.  The 
fiat  goes  forth  from  Paris,  and  the  whole  world  obeys.  What- 
ever fashion  may  have  decreed,  the  woman  generously  dowered 
by  nature  with  charms  will  look  well  in  it.  The  danger  to 
which  those  not  so  blessed  often  succumb  is  to  go  to  extremes 
in  a  fashion  for  which  their  figures  are  not  well  suited. 
Although  the  advantage  of  dress,  as  an  accessory,  is  undeniable, 


CLOTHING   AND   DRESS.  24! 

the  force  of  beauty  of  face  and  form  will  assert  itself  in  any 
dress.  Men  may  think  some  modes  prettier  than  others,  but 
they  fall  into  line  of  approval  for  any  costume  in  which  a  pretty 
woman  is  dressed.  In  "Silas  Marner,"  George  Eliot  writes: 
"Some  women,  I  grant,  would  not  appear  to  advantage  seated 
on  a  pillion  and  attired  in  a  drab  Joseph  and  a  drab  beaver- 
bonnet,  with  a  crown  resembling  a  small  stew-pan ;  for  a  gar- 
ment suggesting  a  coachman's  greatcoat,  cut  out  under  an  ex- 
iguity of  cloth  that  would  only  allow  of  miniature  capes,  is  not 
well  adapted  to  conceal  deficiencies  of  contour,  nor  is  drab  a 
color  that  will  throw  sallow  cheeks  into  lively  contrast.  It  was 
all  the  greater  triumph  to  Miss  Nancy  Lameter's  beauty  that  she 
looked  so  thoroughly  bewitching  in  that  costume,  as,  seated 
on  the  pillion  behind  her  tall,  erect  father,  she  held  one  arm 
around  him,  and  looked  down  with  open-eyed  anxiety  at  the 
treacherous  snow-covered  pools  and  puddles  which  sent  up  for- 
midable splashing  of  mud  under  the  stamp  of  Dobbin's  foot." 

In  view  of  the  constant  revolutions  of  fashion,  it  is  not 
strange  that  the  trailing  street-gown  should  enjoy  periodical  re- 
turns to  favor.  This  is  one  fashion,  however,  which  should  be 
finally  abolished.  On  the  score  of  gracefulness  there  is  nothing 
to  be  said  against  it,  but  it  is  wholly  unadapted  to  a  walking 
costume.  The  love  of  cleanliness  should  discard  the  trailing 
skirt  for  street  wear.  The  most  cleanly  sidewalk  is  full  of  dust, 
and  this  is  always  impregnated  more  or  less  with  germs  of  dis- 
ease. From  what  was  said  in  another  part  of  this  work,  it  is 
clear  that  these  germs  are  capable  of  multiplication  and  activity 
when  placed  under  favorable  household  circumstances.  The 
most  widely  diffused  disease-germ  is  that  of  consumption.  It  is 
a  very  serious  matter  for  a  lady  in  her  walks  to  sweep  the  streets 
with  her  skirt  and  carry  into  her  home  a  host  of  microscopic 
objects  which  may  give  rise  there  to  fatal  disease.  Other  kinds 
of  germs  are  gathered  up  in  the  same  way  which  cause  suppura- 
tive  inflammation  and  various  maladies  of  the  skin. 

The  deposit  of  the  bacilli  of  certain  diseases  upon  skirts  is 

16 


242  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

not  a  mere  suspicion,  but  one  of  actual  demonstration.  These 
organisms  have  been  collected  and  cultivated  from  sweepings 
brought  into  the  house  by  walking-dresses.  It  is  true  that  these 
germs  may  be  brought  into  our  houses  by  other  means,  but  it 
is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  close  as  far  as  possible  every  avenue 
to  their  entrance.  The  long  skirt  for  the  street  has  disappeared, 
and  let  us  hope  that  the  fashion  will  never  be  revived. 


CHAPTER     XIV. 
THE  INFLUENCE  OF  CLIMATE  UPON  HEALTH. 

human  race  is  found,  but  not  everywhere  flourishing, 
from  the  shores  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  to  the  damp  forests 
of  South  America,  along  the  low,  hot  coast  of  Guinea,  in 
the  jungles  of  India,  and  in  the  frozen  lands  of  British  America 
and  Siberia.  It  cannot  be  said  to  flourish  where  life  is  a  con- 
tinuous struggle  for  existence,  without  development  in  com- 
merce, manufactures,  science,  art,  or  social  refinements.  Only 
that  climate  can  truly.be  regarded  as  the  finest  where,  through 
the  associated  conditions  of  weather,  soil,  and  situation,  the 
human  race  can  reach  the  highest  possible  intellectual  and  physi- 
cal development,  despite  imperfections  inherent  in  those  condi- 
tions; for,  in  a  word,  no  climate  on  earth  is  perfect. 

Apparent  immunity  of  some  native  tribes  to  disease  and 
consequent  death  may  not  be  real  to  the  degree  sometimes 
imagined,  for  civilized  people  have  no  statistics  of  these  for 
savages,  and  savages  have  none  for  themselves.  French  obser- 
vers have  pointed  out  that  the  malarial  fevers  prevalent  in 
Cochin  China  during  the  rainy  season  there  attack  natives  as 
well  as  foreigners.  It  is,  however,  also  true  that  heredity,  ex- 
perience, dietetic  and  other  habits  among  natives  do,  in  the 
aggregate,  afford  them  some  degree  of  immunity.  Foreigners 
in  a  climate  entirely  unlike  the  one  in  which  they  were  born  and 
bred  should  accommodate  themselves  as  nearly  as  possible  to  the 
modes  of  life  of  the  natives.  The  mortality  among  the  English 
in  India  is  very  much  less  than  it  was  for  a  long  time  after 
their  occupation  of  that  country.  Down  to  fifty  years  ago,  it 
was  still  a  by-word  how  the  English  persisted  in  India  in  drinking 
strong  ale  and  bottled  porter  and  stout,  just  as  they  had  been  in 
the  habit  of  doing  in  England.  But  even  they,  slow  as  they  are 
compared  to  other  peoples  in  accepting  novelties,  have  learned 

243 


244  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

in  India  enough  wisdom  to  keep  them  from  their  former  suicidal 
habits  there.  In  other  tropical  countries  the  English  profited 
at  last  by  the  same  experience  that  they  had  had  in  India.  It 
is  authentically  mentioned  that  at  certain  English  military 
tropical  stations,  the  death-rate  of  their  troops  has  been  less 
than  the  average  death-rate  in  England.  It  has  been  proved  by 
Dr.  Rattray,  of  the  British  Navy,  that  the  heart's  action  and 
the  rate  of  breathing  are  reduced  in  passing  from  a  temperate 
to  a  hot  climate.  The  quantity  of  air  breathed  is,  therefore, 
correspondingly  diminished.  This  means  that  the  vitality  is 
diminished.  On  the  other  hand,  the  activity  of  the  skin  is  much 
increased  by  hot  climates. 

Those  climates  are  most  healthful  which  bring  about  abun- 
dant exercise  and  work  in  the  open  air.  The  temperate  zone 
contains  several  very  different  climates.  In  the  latitude  of  San 
Francisco,  for  example,  the  climate  of  both  winter  and  summer 
is  very  equable;  but  opposite  to  it,  on  the  eastern  coast  of  the 
United  States,  the  climate  is  what  is  known  as  "extreme,"  hav- 
ing very  cold  winters  and  very  hot  summers ;  and  not  only  that, 
but  no  equableness  in  either.  Happily  for  the  human  race,  it 
has,  upon  the  average,  great  powers  of  adaptation  to  climate. 
A  cold,  dry  atmosphere  is  productive  of  great  physical  energy. 
A  hot,  moist  one  induces  great  languor.  Hot  countries  generate 
infectious  diseases,  and  debilitate  the  digestive  function.  They 
therefore  weaken  the  power  of  resisting  disease.  Cold  climates 
do  not  so  readily  generate  infectious  diseases,  and  when  they 
occur  in  places,  limit  their  spread.  A  cold,  moist  climate  is 
favorable  to  rheumatism  and  to  bronchial  and  pulmonary  dis- 
orders. 

Much  of  the  unhealthiness  of  certain  climates  could  be 
removed  by  sanitary  measures,  the  drainage  of  swamps,  planting 
of  trees,  etc.  Sometimes,  in  the  case  of  dense  forests,  they  may 
be  removed  or  at  least  diminished  in  size,  and  the  draining  of 
swamps  for  the  sake  of  salubrity  is  always  in  order.  The 
action  of  man  in  producing  local  modifications  of  climate  has 


THE    INFLUENCE    OF    CLIMATE    UPON    HEALTH.  245 

been  great,  sometimes  unintentionally,  sometimes  with  -set  pur- 
pose. When  done  with  intention  it  has  been  accomplished  by 
removing  excessive  forest-growth,  draining  swamps,  and  irri- 
gating arid  territory.  It  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  in  the 
course  of  time  men  may  succeed  in  rendering  habitable  to  civil- 
ized races  tracts  of  country  in  which  they  have  not  been  able 
heretofore  to  dwell  without  danger  of  disease  and  loss  of  life. 

The  skin,  and  therefore  the  complexion,  are  affected  by 
climate.  To  the  Caucasian  eye  no  symmetry  of  features  (and 
it  is  sometimes  found  even  in  the  colored  races)  can  atone  for 
the  darkness  of  skin  of  many  peoples.  Darkness  of  skin  does 
not  admit  of  the  contrasts  of  light  and  shade  making  the  model- 
ling which  go  largely,  in  the  features  of  the  Caucasian  race,  to 
produce  expression;  and,  in  addition  to  this  defect  in  the 
features  of  the  dark  races,  they  present  another,  in  the  absence 
of  the  effect  of  blood  in  the  aspect  of  a  face;  either  in  the 
blood's  permanent  bloom  there,  or  in  its  fluctuation  under  the 
spell  of  various  emotions.  A  torrid  temperature  determines 
pigmentation  of  the  skin.  Nature  furnishes  the  skin  in  that 
temperature  with  both  more  oil  and  more  pigment.  If  a  person 
from  the  heart  of  civilization  exposes  himself  to  a  torrid  tem- 
perature for  a  single  season,  and  then  returns  to  his  home  in  a 
temperate  climate,  he  finds  himself  brown  for  months  after- 
wards, and  his  face  so  superfluously  oily  that  he  may  be  obliged 
to  resort  to  a  solution  of  borax  and  water  to  stop  its  glistening 
appearance. 

The  Caucasians  of  Southern  Europe  and  tropical  America 
are  very  dark  in  comparison  with  Northern  Caucasians.  Among 
Caucasians  of  the  extreme  habitable  north,  Swedes  and  Nor- 
wegians, slight  pigmentation  of  the  skin  sometimes  goes  too  far. 
A  very  colorless  white  skin,  blue  or  grey  eyes,  and  straw-colored 
hair  are  departures  from  beauty  of  face.  The  blond  skin  is 
thinner  than  the  brunette,  and  therefore  the  blood  is  more  ap- 
parent in  it.  The  climate  of  England  and  Ireland,  charged  with 
moisture,  is  favorable  to  a  good  complexion.  Englishwomen 


246  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

and  Irishwomen  have  the  most  beautiful  complexions  in  the 
world.  It  was  the  blending  of  the  Celt,  Saxon,  and  Norman, 
with  a  touch  of  Scandanavian,  that  has  saved  the  English  from 
the  monotone  of  the  Scandinavian  complexion.  In  the  United 
States,  the  humidity  of  the  Atlantic,  Pacific,  and  Gulf  coasts 
fosters  brilliancy  of  the  complexion,  while  the  lack  of  moisture  of 
the  Northwestern  plateau  has  a  drying  effect  upon  the  skin  and 
renders  it  comparatively  toneless. 

The  origin  of  the  highest  forms  of  civilization  which  the 
world  has  seen  has  been,  in  most  cases,  in  temperate  climates. 
Egypt  is  one  of  them.  There  the  temperature  is  generally  high, 
but  remarkably  equable;  favorable  to  outdoor  life,  to  general 
health,  and  to  activity  of  body  and  mind.  The  climate  of  India, 
the  seat  of  very  remote  civilization,  is,  on  its  plains,  exceedingly 
hot  and  unfavorable  to  human  progress.  But  the  dominant  race 
of  Hindostan,  possessed  of  energy,  brought  with  it  to  the 
country  the  rudiments  of  civilization  which  it  subsequently 
developed.  The  climate  of  Greece,  Rome,  and  Palestine,  all 
ancient  states,  and  those  by  which  modern  society  has  been 
most  profoundly  affected,  were  mild  and  salubrious.  The  pecu- 
liar and  apparently  unrelated  forms  of  civilization  developed 
in  Mexico  and  Peru  occurred  in  countries  where  nature  favored 
health  of  body  and  mind. 

The  broadest  possible  division  of  climates  is  into  those 
of  islands  and  those  of  mainlands.  When  we  speak  of  islands, 
we  think  of  them  relatively  to  mainlands,  as  small  bodies  of 
land  surrounded  by  water,  although,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  both 
continents  of  the  earth  are  islands.  Ideal  marine  climate  is, 
of  course,  found  on  the  broad  bosom  of  the  ocean,  but  the  insular 
climate  does  not  differ  much  from  it  on  small  islands.  Small 
islands  in  semi-tropical  regions  have  a  delightful  climatic 
feature  in  the  breeze  at  night.  As  the  sun  goes  down,  the  heat 
of  the  islands  radiates  rapidly,  and  as  its  column  ascends,  the 
cool  air,  from  the  never-changing  temperature  of  the  ocean, 
flows  in  below  over  the  land.  The  seashore  of  the  mainland 


THE   INFLUENCE   OF    CLIMATE   UPON    HEALTH.  247 

possesses  some  of  the  advantages  of  an  insular  climate.  It  may 
be  properly  called  a  marine  climate.  According  to  Dr.  Hermann 
Weber,  this  kind  of  marine  climate  can  be  divided  into  three 
classes,  determined  by  their  varying  degrees  of  humidity.  Each 
of  these  varieties  may,  according  to  him,  be  subdivided  with 
relation  to  temperature.  Among  the  warm  and  moist  climates, 
well  known  as  health  resorts,  may  be  instanced  Madeira,  the 
Canary  Islands,  the  Bahamas,  the  Bermudas,  Cuba,  Jamaica, 
the  West  Indies  generally.  Cool  and  moist  marine  climates  are 
found  in  northern  latitudes.  .  On  the  Eastern  continent,  the 
islands  off  the  coast  of  Scotland  belong  to  this  category. 
Medium  degrees  of  humidity,  with  warmth,  are  found  around 
the  Mediterranean,  at  Gibraltar,  Algiers,  Palermo,  Venice,  and 
on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  at  Virginia  Beach,  Old  Point  Com- 
fort, and  other  places.  Cool  marine  climates  of  medium  humidity 
are  found  at  various  places  on  the  English  and  Irish  coasts. 
Such  are  found  also  in  America  at  Mount  Desert,  Isle  of  Shoals, 
Nantucket,  Newport,  Fire  Island.  Among  good  winter  resorts 
should  not  be  forgotten  Queenstown,  the  Isle  of  Wight,  Florida. 
Summer  resorts  include  the  coast  of  Cornwall  and  Devonshire, 
Wales,  Ireland,  the  northern  coast  of  France,  Belgium,  Holland, 
and  Germany.  Marine  climates  with  low  degree  of  humidity 
are  found  on  the  Riviera,  at  Nice,  Mentone,  Malta,  on  the  Medi- 
terranean; and  at  many  places  along  the  coast  of  New  Jersey, 
from  Long  Branch  to  Cape  May.  It  is  so  damp  at  Cape  May, 
that  if  one  keeps  shoes  in  the  confined  air  of  a  handbag  or  trunk 
for  a  few  days,  he  will  often  find  them  mildewed. 

Marine  climates  have  many  advantages  for  those'  persons 
to  whom  they  are  appropriate.  The  air  stimulates  the  appetite, 
and  improves  the  digestion.  It  strengthens  relaxed  muscles,  in- 
vigorates the  heart,  deepens  the  breathing,  and  promotes,  there- 
fore, purification  of  the  blood.  The  tone  of  the  nervous  system 
is  raised,  the  mind  tends  to  cheerfulness,  the  skin  becomes  soft 
and  the  complexion  more  blooming.  Sleep  is  sound,  lassitude 
vanishes,  and  the  general  improvement  in  health  is  indicated  by 


248  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

increase  of  weight.  Insomnia  is  almost  impossible  for  one  com- 
ing from  the  interior  of  a  country  to  the  seashore.  Everyone 
must  have  observed  that  even  the  healthiest  persons,  when  resort- 
ing to  the  seashore,  experience  sleepiness  for  a  time. 

Land  climates  differ  among  themselves  chiefly  from  latitude 
and  elevation  above  the  sea.  They  may  be  regarded,  therefore, 
independent  of  their  latitude,  as  mountain  and  lowland  climates. 
Mountainous  resorts  for  health  and  renovation  are  numerous  in 
Europe  and  America.  Upon  the  Eastern  continent,  the  Alps,  the 
Maritime  Alps,  and  the  Apennines,  the  German  highlands,  the 
Davos-Platz,  and  other  places  may  be  noted.  In  America, 
Canada,  Denver,  Colorado  Springs,  St.  Paul,  Asheville,  the  Cat- 
skills,  the  Alleghenies,  the  Green  and  the  White  Mountains,  all 
afford  high  altitudes.  The  climates  of  low  levels  include  dry  and 
warm  atmospheres,  dry  and  cold,  and  moderately  moist.  In  the 
first  variety  are  included  California  and  New  Mexico;  in  the 
second,  Canada  and  Minnesota;  in  the  third,  Rome,  Pau,  New 
England,  Saratoga,  and  other  places. 

In  many  conditions  of  impaired  health  more  benefit  arises 
from  change  of  climate  than  from  any  other  course  that  can  be 
pursued.  It  should  be  known,  too,  that  change  of  climate  has 
other  advantages  besides  those  that  are  derived  from  atmospheric 
difference.  There  is  a  celebrated  Latin  line  which  speaks  of  the 
traveler  as  one  who  coslum,  non  animam  mutat — "who  changes 
his  sky  but  not  his  mind."  But  the  statement  is  not  true.  No  man 
can  radically  change  his  earthly  horizon  without  change  of  mind. 
The  mind  partakes  of  that  which  is  presented  to  it.  Change  of 
climate  presumes  purer  atmosphere  sought,  different  scenes,  dif- 
ferent habits,  different  social  surroundings.  The  mind  is  thus 
stimulated;  whatever  disagreeable  has  been  left  behind  is 
dimmed  in  mental  impression  and  the  mind  is  stimulated  by  nov- 
elty to  pleasant  action.  Increased  outdoor  activity  is  generally 
one  of  the  results  of  traveling,-  and  this,  of  course,  is  conducive 
to  health.  So,  it  will  be  observed,  there  are  many  important  dif- 
ferences in  life  involved  in  a  change  of  climate.  Any  one  who 


THE    INFLUENCE    OF    CLIMATE    UPON    HEALTH.  249 

will  read  the  physiologist,  Dr.  Carpenter,  on  the  subject  of  the 
influence  of  the  mind  on  the  body  will  see  that  the  Latin  state- 
ment is  altogether  wrong.  A  temporary  change  for  an  invalid, 
not  gone  too  far  to  recuperate,  is  of  decided  benefit,  whether 
after  an  acute  attack  of  illness  or  after  a  gradual  running  down 
in  health.  Choice  of  location  for  a  sojourn  must,  of  course, 
depend  upon  the  nature  of  the  disease  and  the  season  of  the 
year.  Chronic  disorders  demand  long,  perhaps  permanent  resi- 
dence in  a  certain  kind  of  place. 

Scrofula  is  not  caused,  but  is  at  least  promoted,  by  unhealthy 
surroundings.  Scrofulous  children  are  subject  to  catarrhal  af- 
fections, digestive  disorders,  sore  eyes,  and  to  various  diseases 
of  the  skin.  One  of  the  most  characteristic  manifestations  of 
scrofula  is  the  presence  of  swollen  glands.  These  are  found  in 
any  situation  on  the  body,  but  their  favorite  locality  is  on  the 
neck.  After  they  have  for  some  time  gradually  enlarged,  the 
skin  over  them  becomes  inflamed  and  red.  In  time  the  skin 
bursts  in  places,  giving  out  a  purulent  discharge  and  showing 
little  tendency  to  heal.  Often  so  much  skin  is  destroyed  as  to 
form  a  large,  raw,,  ulcerated  surface.  If  the  ulcer  finally  heals, 
an  unsightly  scar  is  left  in  its  place.  Such  scars  detract  from 
the  comeliness  of  a  person,  and  every  effort  should  be  made  to 
save  from  their  disfigurement. 

This  enlargement  and  destruction  of  glands  and  skin  gen- 
erally takes  place  in  childhood  or  youth.  In  many  cases  the 
children  possess  a  beautiful  skin,  bright  eyes,  and  silken  hair. 
They  are  attractive  at  first,  and  would  doubtless  become,  as 
adults,  equally  good-looking.  Whenever  practicable,  a  change 
of  the  sufferer  from  city  to  country,  from  an  inclement  to  a 
balmy  atmosphere,  should  be  made  as  soon  as  the  lumps  begin 
to  appear.  Scrofula  is  closely  allied  to  consumption,  and  equally 
with  it  demands  abundance  of  pure  air.  A  mild,  rather  warm, 
and  perhaps  somewhat  humid  atmosphere  promotes  the  health  of 
scrofulous  individuals  and  brings  about  a  healthier  condition  of 
the  skin  at  the  site  of  the  swollen  glands,  which  may  slowly  re- 


25O  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

sume  their  normal  size  and  leave  the  beauty  of  the  skin 
unimpaired. 

In  addition  to  these  swellings  and  ulcers  which  scrofulous 
children  are  liable  to  suffer  from,  they  exhibit  other  forms  of 
skin  disease  which  are  very  obstinate  to  treatment.  A  gratify- 
ing improvement  in  these  cases  is  often  witnessed  as  the  result 
of  a  sojourn  at  one  of  the  winter  resorts  of  Florida,  such  as  St. 
Petersburg  and  Tarpon  Springs,  upon  the  Gulf  Coast.  These 
places  are  close  to  salt  water,  while  just  to  the  eastward  of  them 
extend  great  pine  forests.  Everyone  has  come  to  know,  in  these 
modern  times,  of  the  balmy,  salubrious  influence  of  pine  forests. 
An  ocean  voyage,  too,  is  most  beneficial  for  those  who  have  the 
scrofulous  taint.  Swollen  glands  tend,  under  treatment,  to  be 
reduced,  and  if  ulceration  in  them  has  taken  place,  sea-air  pro- 
motes their  healing. 

Change  of  climate  affects  much  good  in  chronic  bronchial 
catarrh.  Removal  to  a  new  place  of  residence,  as  has  been 
already  indicated,  has  a  beneficial  effect  even  when  there  is  not 
much  difference  in  altitude  and  temperature  between  the  situ- 
ations. Some  persons  are  relieved  by  the  presence  of  moisture, 
others  by  dryness  in  the  atmosphere.  Bronchial  trouble  is  liable 
to  be  aggravated  by  cold  climates.  A  stay  in  the  mountains, 
or  at  some  inland  place  where  the  air  is  pure,  particularly  one  in 
pine  forests,  will  not  infrequently  bring  about  a  complete  cure. 
A  sea-trip  is  advantageous  to  a  patient  suffering  from  bronchial 
affection.  Sea-travel  is  also  beneficial  after  partial  recovery  from 
pneumonia,  when  the  lung  has  not  recovered  its  healthy  state, 
and  when  the  cough  lingers.  Laryngitis  is  another  affection 
which  is  ameliorated  by  a  sea  voyage.  An  entire  change  of  sur- 
roundings will,  in  the  majority  of  cases  of  asthma,  prove  bene- 
ficial. If  the  malady  be  not  complicated  with  alteration  in  the 
structure  of  the  lungs,  or  with  disease  of  the  heart,  a  sojourn 
among  the  mountains  or  upon  high  table-land  is  of  service. 
If  the  asthma  be  complicated  with  much  bronchitis,  a  dry  climate 


THE    INFLUENCE    OF    CLIMATE    UPON    HEALTH.  251 

is  preferable  to  a  moist  one  for  the  patient ;  but  when  this  is  not 
the  case,  the  pine  woods  near  the  coast  are  better. 

The  best  way  of  checking  the  advance  of  consumption  is 
change  of  climate.  The  selection  of  a  place  to  stay  is  of  so 
deep  importance  that  it  should  not  be  undertaken  without  the 
advice  of  a  physician.  No  absolute  rule  can  be  laid  down  for  the 
choice.  Each  case  needs  to  be  separately  considered.  Some 
persons  do  best  when  sent  to  a  cold,  dry  climate,  others  when 
sent  to  a  dry  and  mild  one.  Some  receive  the  most  advantage 
from  a  sea-voyage,  or  from  residence  on  an  island  situated  at 
some  distance  from  the  mainland.  In  all  appropriate  situations 
it  is  necessary  for  the  patient  to  spend  as  much  time  as  possible 
in  the  open  air.  A  most  important  point,  which  has  often  been 
neglected  with  the  consequence  of  much  physical  and  mental 
pain,  is  that  the  consumptive  patient  should  never  leave  home 
if  the  disease  is  well  advanced.  The  disease  may  be  hastened 
if  the  patient's  strength  be  unable  to  stand  the  stress  of  travel 
and  loneliness,  and  he  may  die  miserably  away  from  home,  with- 
out its  comforts,  and  among  strangers. 

If  travel  for  the  patient  shall  have  been  decided  upon,  the 
next  question  that  arises  for  decision  is  as  to  the  mode  of  con- 
veyance. In  these  days  of  rapid  transit,  one  scarcely  thinks  of 
any  other  mode  than  railway  travel;  but  if  one  can  afford  it, 
a  far  pleasanter  and  more  healthful  way  during  the  mild  parts 
of  the  year  is  leisurely  progress  by  means  of  horse  and  wagon. 
The  little  incidents  of  the  wayside,  the  changing  aspects  of  the 
landscape,  the  pure  country  air,  are  of  vastly  more  benefit  to 
an  invalid  than  is  a  rapid  whirl  from  a  point  to  a  distant  one 
in  a  railway  car.  The  air  of  the  car  is  contaminated,  the  patient 
sits  for  hours  almost  motionless,  and  can  get  but  a  glimpse  of  the 
scenes  through  which  he  is  flying.  He  probably  spends  most 
of  the  time  in  reading  a  newspaper  or  a  magazine.  At  night 
he  is  shut  up  in  a  berth  amidst  close  air ;  good  enough  for  one 
who  is  traveling  for  business,  but  not  a  fit  place  for  one  who  is 
searching  for  health.  If  the  journey  must  be  taken  by  rail,  the 


252  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

nights  should  be  spent  at  hotels  on  the  road,  providing  that 
they  are  not  noisy  caravanserais. 

In  a  journey  by  horse  and  wagon,  or  if  he  prefer  it,  by  auto- 
car, the  traveler  is  as  free  as  a  bird  of  the  air.  He  lives  in  a 
pure  atmosphere,  his  meals  are  taken  by  his  own,  not  a  railway's 
time-table.  He  can  stop  where  he  pleases  and  take  his  night's 
rest  where  he  pleases.  The  sense  of  freedom  which  he  experiences 
is  infinitely  good  for  him.  In  this  way  the  seeker  of  health  is 
gradually  gaining  it  all  along  the  route,  and  he  reaches  the  end 
of  his  journey  refreshed  and  invigorated.  In  this  way,  too, 
the  patient  becomes  gradually  introduced  to  climatic  differences, 
instead  of  being  hurried  into  them ;  for  in  the  transfer  from  one 
part  of  this  country  to  the  opposite  extreme  the  distance  is  so 
vast  that  a  process  of  acclimation  is  desirable. 

Diabetes  is  a  disease  which  requires  warmth,  because,  from 
its  influence,  the  temperature  of  the  body  becomes  low.  A  warm, 
equable  climate  which  promotes  the  action  of  the  skin  is  the 
one  best  adapted  for  delaying  the  progress  of  the  disease. 

Chronic  rheumatism,  whether  it  has  attacked  the  joints  or 
the  muscles,  is  alleviated  by  a  warm,  dry  climate. 

The  sufferer  from  chronic  malaria  should  remove  to  a 
high,  cool,  and  dry  region,  free  of  swamps.  When  a  man  is 
saturated  with  malaria,  what  he  regards  as  a  strange  thing  often 
happens ;  that  is,  he  so  regards  it,  unless  he  is  a  physician.  The 
sudden  removal  from  an  intensely  malarious  region  to  a  high 
and  perfectly  salubrious  one  is  often  followed,  on  account  of  the 
stimulus  to  the  system,  by  an  attack  of  chills  and  fever. 

Disease  of  the  liver  is  best  treated  by  a  rather  cool  and 
elevated  region. 

When  the  blood  is  thin  and  watery  an  open-air  life  is  indi- 
cated. Any  place  where  the  day  may  be  spent  out-of-doors, 
without  need  of  much  exercise,  can  be  recommended.  An  ocean 
voyage  is  one  of  the  best  methods  of  improving  the  quality  of 
the  blood.  A  visit  to  the  seashore  in  the  early  summer,  and  a 
subsequent  stay  at  some  mountain  resort,  is  a  beneficial  course. 


THE    INFLUENCE   OF    CLIMATE   UPON    HEALTH.  253 

In  other  forms  of  disorder  of  the  blood,  much  advantage  is 
derived  from  climatic  treatment.  A  moderately  cool  atmosphere, 
sufficiently  so  to  be  somewhat  bracing,  is  generally  productive 
of  improvement.  Nervous,  debilitated,  hypochondriac  and 
hysterical  individuals  are  benefited  by  change  of  climate  coupled 
with  exercise  in  the  open  air.  Dyspepsia,  not  only  evil  in  itself, 
but  the  precursor  of  other  disorders,  is  admirably  treated  in  the 
same  manner. 

Insomnia  literally  means  sleeplessness,  but  in  medical  par- 
lance it  means  so  great  a  degree  of  sleeplessness  as  to  constitute 
disease.  It  is  a  troublesome  affection.  Some  persons  afflicted 
with  it  dread  the  approach  of  bedtime,  and  upon  retiring  toss 
sleeplessly  upon  their  couches.  Digestion  becomes  impaired, 
appetite  fails,  and  the  person  becomes  irritable  and  despondent, 
quite  out  of  health.  Under  these  circumstances  mountain  air 
is  very  valuable  to  the  sufferer.  It  is  important,  however,  to  re- 
member that  if  such  a  person  goes  for  relief  to  a  public  resort, 
it  should  be  chosen  with  discretion,  or  else  a  private  one  secured. 
If  at  a  public  resort,  it  be  one  of  the  kind  where  some  of  the 
guests  are  uproarious,  or  keep  up  music  and  dancing  until  a  late 
hour,  it  is  obvious  that  such  a  place  is  not  suitable  for  the  treat- 
ment of  insomnia. 

Most  cases  of  insomnia  are  benefited  by  residence  on  the 
seashore  rather  than  in  the  mountains.  A  sea-voyage  is  an 
excellent  remedy  for  it.  If  the  unfortunate  condition  has  resulted 
from  nervous  strain  or  chronic  dyspepsia,  it  is  dispelled  by  the 
removal  of  the  causes  which  produced  it.  Many  persons  of  mid- 
dle or  later  age  do  not  readily  fall  asleep,  even  though  they  ex- 
perience no  failure  in  general  health.  They  feel  drowsy  before 
bedtime,  but  the  moment  their  heads  touch  the  pillow  they  become 
wide  awake;  and  this  condition  may  continue  for  two  or  three 
hours,  without  the  slightest  relief,  notwithstanding  that  they  may 
employ  every  device  to  obtain  perfect  repose.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances the  sufferer  must  resist  any  prompting  that  he  may 


254  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

feel  to  relief  from  narcotics,  for  the  habit  of  taking  them  re- 
mains, and  nature  has  no  opportunity  left  to  resume  its  power. 

The  sea  exercises  a  wonderful  influences  in  these  cases — 
either  in  the  form  of  a  sea-voyage  or  residence  in  a  quiet  place 
on  the  seashore.  It  is  also  beneficial  in  cases  of  neuralgia,  ner- 
vous depression,  St.  Vitus's  dance,  gout.  A  patient  has  been 
known  to  go  on  shipboard  suffering  from  enlargement  of  and 
pains  in  the  joints,  disordered  digestion,  irritable  action  of  the 
heart,  muscular  cramps,  headache,  and  insomnia, — a  perfect  Pan- 
dora's box  of  evils, — who  began  to  improve  in  health  as  soon 
as  the  steamer  was  well  under  way  in  the  ocean's  breezes,  and 
whose  improved  condition  continued  for  months  thereafter. 
Ocean  climate  is  also  valuable  in  certain  forms  and  stages  of 
disease  of  the  heart.  In  such  cases,  however,  the  patient  should 
rely  entirely  for  conduct  upon  the  advice  of  a  physician. 

From  all  that  has  been  here  said,  the  reader  should  have 
perceived  that  what  has  been  called  climate  is  made  up  of  a 
number  of  elements,  each  of  which  has  its  individual  influence. 
The  climates  decidedly  detrimental  to  health  are  those  which 
are  of  either  a  very  high  or  a  very  low  temperature,  co-existing 
with  a  very  high  degree  of  humidity.  Moist  heat  nourishes  the 
germs  of  infectious  diseases,  This  could,  in  many  instances,  be 
obviated  by  the  drainage  of  swamps.  Many  of  the  diseases 
characteristic  of  the  tropics  are  preventible  by  the  resources  of 
engineering  and  by  stringent  sanitary  precautions.  Scientific 
medical  treatment  looks  forward  to  a  time  when,  by  these  means, 
the  present  ravages  of  malaria,  yellow  fever,  and  cholera  will  be 
greatly  abated,  if  not  entirely  prevented.  In  order  tt>  effect  such 
an  immense  change  for  the  better,  engineering  and  sanitary 
science  must  work  together,  Such  a  great  purpose  as  that  indi- 
cated cannot,  however,  be  carried  forward  by  private  enterprise 
alone,  but  must  receive  the  support  of  government,  aided  by 
public  knowledge  of  its  inutility  and  inadequacy  without  gov- 
ernmental action ;  for  popular  ignorance  often  stands  stolidly  in 


THE    INFLUENCE   OF    CLIMATE    UPON    HEALTH.  255 

the  way  of  improvement  which  would  be  for  benefits  that  would 
be  local  and  for  those  also  that  would  affect  the  whole  world. 

Almost  every  man  thinks  that  he  is  weather-wise,  is  a  good 
judge  of  coming  weather;  but  there  are  only  two  classes  of 
men  who  are  fair  judges  of  it:  those  who  live  constantly  in  the 
open,  and  those  who  study  the  weather  scientifically.  All  that 
has  been  heretofore  said  about  climatic  treatment  of  health  will 
be  reinforced  to  the  reader  by  some  consideration  of  meteoro- 
logical facts  here  subjoined. 

The  principal  characteristics  of  climate  hinge  upon  the  tem- 
perature of  the  atmosphere  and  the  amount  of  watery  vapor  that 
it  habitually  contains  in  any  given  place.  The  atmosphere  may 
be,  for  purposes  of  illustration,  likened  to  a  sponge.  When  it 
increases  its  volume  by  heat, — and  its  volume  is  always  increased 
by  heat, — and  just  in  proportion  to  its  increase  of  volume,  it  is 
capable  of  imbibing  the  vapor  of  water.  If,  when  it  is  expanded 
by  heat,  and  saturated  by  watery  vapor,  cold  intervenes,  it  con- 
tracts, and  the  watery  vapor  is  expelled  in  the  form  of  rain,  hail, 
or  snow.  If  it  be  not  wholly  saturated  with  vapor  of  water  when 
it  is  subjected  to  contraction  by  cold,  its  discharged  vapor  will  ap- 
pear in  the  form  of  fog;  which  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a 
cloud  on  the  surface  of  the  earth  instead  of  in  the  sky.  On  Table 
Mountain,  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  this  phenomenon  is  beauti- 
fully displayed  in  what  is  there  called  "laying  the  table-cloth." 
Vapor-laden  wind  blowing  over  the  cold  summit  condenses 
into  fog,  because  the  cold  of  the  mountain  top  condenses  it  and 
expels  its  moisture.  Then  the  fog  clears  away,  and,  in  time, 
other  vapor-laden  air  again  spreads  the  table-cloth  of  fog  or 
cloud;  it  amounts  to  the  same  thing. 

When  we  think  of  the  temperature  of  a  climate,  we  must 
consider  what  the  climate  is  at  different  seasons.  Some  climates 
are  what  are  called  "extreme."  They  have  very  hot  summers 
and  very  cold  winters.  Other  climates  are  equable.  There  is 
in  them  no  very  great  difference  between  the  temperature  of  the 
summer  and  that  of  the  winter.  Again,  there  are  two  kinds  of 


HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

climates  in  which  there  is  a  rainy  season,  but  even  they  differ  very 
much,  from  the  fact  that,  in  one  of  them,  it  rains  every  day, 
and  in  the  other,  may  rain,  but  again  may  not  rain  for  several 
days. 

Climates  vary  very  much  under  the  influence  of  what  may 
happen  to  be  their  prevalent  winds.  They  also  vary  very  much 
as  influenced  by  ocean  currents.  The  Gulf  Stream  of  the 
Atlantic  carries  great  warmth  with  it  to  the  northern  part  of 
Europe ;  the  Kuro  Siwo,  or  Black  Current  of  the  Pacific,  carries 
great  warmth  from  the  neighborhood  of  Japan  to  the  north- 
western part  of  the  United  States.  The  form  of  the  earth's  sur- 
face, elevation  or  depression  of  ground,  character  of  the  soil, 
abundance  or  lack  of  vegetation,  the  sort  of  vegetation,  the 
length  of  the  day  as  compared  with  the  length  of  the  night,  the 
electrical  condition  of  the  atmosphere,  and  perhaps  other  factors 
of  which  we  know  nothing,  constitute,  in  their  diversity  and 
assemblage,  what  is  known  as  climate. 

The  great  source  of  heat  is  the  sun.  The  earth  has  internal 
heat,  but,  in  comparison  with  that  afforded  by  the  sun,  it  is  in- 
considerable. When  the  sun's  rays  fall  vertically  upon  any  part 
of  the  earth's  surface,  there  it  is,  for  the  time,  hottest.  As  at 
and  near  the  equator,  even  when  the  rays  are  not  falling  verti- 
cally upon  it,  they  are  in  both  seasons  falling  more  nearly  verti- 
cally upon  it  than  they  ever  similarly  fall  upon  any  other  part 
of  the  earth,  it  is  always  hottest  at  and  near  the  equator.  The 
sun  is  not  in  the  center  of  the  ellipse  about  which  the  earth 
travels,  and  the  polar  diameter  of  the  earth  presents  different 
angles  to  the  ellipse  as  that  diameter  travels  around  the  sun. 
These  physical  facts  together  cause  the  seasons.  The  northern 
hemisphere  of  the  earth  is  turned  toward  the  sun  when  it  is  at 
the  greatest  distance  from  the  sun,  and  away  from  it  when  it  is 
nearest  to  the  sun. 

The  summer  days,  whether  of  the  northern  or  the  southern 
hemisphere,  being  longer  than  the  winter  days  in  either,  the 
earth  and  its  atmosphere  are,  in  those  regions,  and  at  those  times, 


THE   INFLUENCE   OF    CLIMATE   UPON    HEALTH.  257 

in  receipt  of  greater  heat  than  in  winter  time,  despite  the  fact 
that  the  earth  is  then  further  from  the  sun  than  it  is  in  winter. 
We  are  so  habituated  to  thinking  of  everything  as  relating  to 
personal  affairs,  that  few  people  in  the  northern  hemisphere 
reflect  that  Christmas  comes  in  our  midsummer  in  the  southern 
hemisphere. 

The  temperature  of  a  country  depends,  as  might  be  sur- 
mised from  what  has  already  been  indicated,  not  alone  upon  its 
latitude.  It  is  influenced  by  its  elevation.  Look  at  the  case  of 
Switzerland  and  many  other  places.  The  higher  we  ascend  the 
less  dense  the  atmosphere  becomes  and  the  lower  the  tem- 
perature. The  diminution  in  temperature  is  not  perfectly  uni- 
form, but  it  has  been  found  to  average  about  one  degree  of 
Fahrenheit  in  fall  for  every  three  to  four  hundred  feet  of  ele- 
vation of  ground.  Therefore,  upon  very  lofty  mountains,  a  point 
is  at  length  reached  where  the  moisture  deposited  from  the  air 
has  been  condensed  and  frozen,  and  the  peaks  remain  clothed 
in  perpetual  snow.  The  lowest  point  at  which  the  condensa- 
tion and  freezing  take  place  is  known  as  the  snow  line;  which 
is  not  entirely  dependent  for  position  upon  altitude,  but  is  modi- 
fied in  position  by  particular  exposure  to  the  sun's  heat  and  the 
amount  of  moisture  that  the  air  happens  locally  to  contain.  The 
line  of  perpetual  snow  is  necessarily  the  highest  on  mountains 
situated  at  the  equator.  The  temperature  of  a  coast  is  also  in- 
fluenced by  the  direction  of  the  flow  of  ocean  currents. 

Winds,  movements  of  air  anywhere,  whether  in  a  room  or 
in  the  open,  are  generally  caused  by  contiguous  bodies  of  air  of 
different  densities.  Relative  amount  of  heat  and  moisture  is 

9 

what  makes  one  body  of  air  more  or  less  dense  than  another. 
Being  more  heated,  therefore  less  dense  than  another  body  of 
air  less  heated  and  therefore  more  dense,  the  less  dense  ascends 
and  the  more  dense  supplies  its  place  by  flowing  in  below.  Over 
large  areas  where  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  markedly  dif- 
fers, the  atmosphere  from  the  region  of  high  pressure  flows  to 

17 


258  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

that  of  the  low  pressure  region.  The  direction  of  winds  is 
modified  by  the  revolution  of  the  earth  from  west  to  east. 

The  atmosphere  receiving  heat  from  the  sun,  and  radiation 
of  that  from  the  earth,  absorbs  all  the  moisture  which  it  con- 
tains from  ocean,  lakes,  ponds,  rivers,  brooks,  or  wet  lands, 
upon  which  the  sun  shines.  It  is  returned  to  the  earth  sooner 
or  later  in  the  form  of  dew,  rain,  hail,  or  snow.  Starting  from 
the  freezing  point  of  water,  the  capacity  of  the  air  to  absorb 
water  is  doubled  for  every  increase  of  twenty-seven  degrees 
Fahrenheit.  When  the  air  is  unable  to  contain  any  more  vapor 
of  water  it  is  said  to  be  saturated.  The  degree  of  dampness  in 
atmosphere  is  called  the  relative  humidity  of  the  atmosphere,  and, 
as  must  be  seen,  varies  with  the  presence  of  watery  vapor  and 
with  the  temperature  which  causes  the  expansion  of  the  atmos- 
phere. A  damp  air  becomes  relatively  dry  if  its  temperature  is 
much  increased,  because  with  increase  of  temperature  comes  in- 
crease of  volume.  A  dry  air  becomes  relatively  moist  when  its 
temperature  is  much  diminished,  because  with  diminution  of 
temperature  comes  decrease  of  volume. 

When  a  portion  of  the  atmosphere  is  filled  to  some  degree 
with  watery  vapor,  and  comes  in  contact  with  a  colder  portion 
of  the  atmosphere,  the  vapor  of  water  becomes  visible  in  the 
form  of  fog  or  cloud,  because,  as  previously  explained,  the 
water-laden  atmosphere  shrinks  and  can  no  longer  hold  its 
former  vapory  contents.  If  a  portion  of  the  atmosphere  is  sat- 
urated with  watery  vapor,  and  comes  in  contact  with  another 
extremely  cold,  it  so  greatly  shrinks  that  rain,  snow,  or  hail 
immediately  falls.  What  is  just  described  applies  to  the  clouds, 
but  the  same  agency  exists  in  the  case  of  fog.  When  a  cold 
portion  of  the  atmosphere  comes  in  contact  with  the  sea  or  with 
a  moist  portion  of  the  earth,  a  fog  arises;  or,  if  it  be  a  warm 
portion  of  the  atmosphere  coming  in  contact  with  cold  earth, 
the  same  phenomenon  is  exhibited.  It  is  a  mere  matter  of  rela- 
tive vapor  and  cold.  When  a  fog  clears  away,  or  a  cloud 


THE   INFLUENCE    OF    CLIMATE   UPON    HEALTH.  259 

dissipates,  it  is  because  the  heated  surrounding  atmosphere  has 
licked  up  the  watery  vapor  of  which  clouds  are  composed. 

Ocean  winds  contain  a  vast  amount  of  moisture,  which  is 
readily  precipitated  in  the  form  of  rain  or  snow.  The  constant 
wind  from  the  east  that  blows  over  the  northern  part  of  Chile, 
is  so  robbed  of  its  watery  contents  by  the  mountain  ranges  east  of 
Chile,  that  no  rain  falls  along  its  coast  near  Valparaiso.  As 
a  general  rule,  more  rain  falls  in  warm  than  in  cold  countries. 
There  are,  however,  many  exceptions  to  this  general  rule. 
Within  the  tropics  the  rainfall  is  greater  in  the  summer  than  in 
winter.  In  the  temperate  zones  it  is  greater  in  winter  than  in 
summer.  In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  the  rainfall  of  any 
region  depends  upon  its  prevailing  winds,  the  parts  of  the  earth 
whence  they  have  come,  the  formation  of  the  land  at  which  they 
arrive,  and  the  temperature  of  the  localities  which  they  traverse. 

In  some  parts  of  the  world  scarcely  any  rain  falls.  This 
is  the  case  in  Egypt,  on  the  coast  of  Peru,  in  other  portions  of 
America,  and  on  the  coast  of  Africa.  In  Patagonia,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  fall  of  rain  is  almost  incessant.  The  southwest  winds 
which  blow  upon  Europe  cause  a  heavy  rainfall  in  those  countries 
which  are  close  to  the  ocean :  Norway,  England,  Ireland,  Portu- 
gal, Spain,  and  western  France.  In  the  level  tracts  of  Russia 
and  Germany,  annual  rainfall  is  much  less  than  in  the  countries 
just  mentioned.  In  western  Europe  the  greater  rainfall  of  the 
year  is  in  winter.  In  the  interior  of  the  continent,  summer  is 
the  season  of  the  most  abundant  rains.  In  the  countries  of 
southern  Europe,  bordering  upon  the  Mediterranean,  more  rain 
falls  with  a  north  wind  than  with  a  southwest  wind.  Rain  is 
more  abundant  in  the  north  than  in  the  south  of  Italy.  Along 
the  northern  coast  of  Africa  and  in  Syria,  rain  seldom  occurs 
in  summer,  but  is  not  infrequent  in  winter.  The  most  abundant 
rainfall  in  the  United  States  occurs  along  the  Atlantic  Coast 
and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  Gulf  States  and  the  States  imme- 
diately north  of  them  enjoy  an  abundance  of  rain.  The  trade- 
winds,  laden  with  heat  and  moisture,  are  somewhat  deflected 


26O  HEALTH   AND   BEAUTY. 

northward  along  the  Mississippi  Valley.  From  the  Atlantic 
Coast  as  far  west  as  Missouri,  the  rainfall  throughout  the  year 
is  quite  uniform.  On  the  Pacific  Coast  the  amount  of  rainfall 
increases  in  going  from  south  to  north.  Along  the  western 
slope  of  California  scarcely  any  rain  falls  in  summer,  but  quite 
a  large  quantity  during  December.  In  the  State  of  Washing- 
ton, on  the  coast,  rain  is  abundant  in  the  summer.  In  the 
region  between  the  Cordilleras  and  the  Rocky  Mountains  the 
rainfall  is  slight. 

Hail  is  produced,  just  as  rain  is,  by  the  meeting  of  a  warm 
cloud-body  highly  charged  with '  vapor  of  water  with  another 
body  of  atmosphere  or  a  body  of  land  that  is  relatively  cool, 
and  therefore  relatively  vaporless;  only,  in  the  case  of  rain, 
a  very  low  temperature  does  not  coincide  with  its  fall,  whereas 
in  the  case  of  the  production  of  hail  or  snow,  the  temperature 
of  one  of  the  atmospheric  areas  must  be  very  low.  In  Philadel- 
phia, in  the  spring  of  1872,  a  hail-storm,  not  lasting  over  ten 
minutes,  coming  from  the  southward,  destroyed  over  a  million 
dollars'  worth  of  glass  in  windows  and  hot-houses.  An  ob- 
server of  our  acquaintance  was  interested  enough  to  gather, 
immediately  after  the  squall  (which  was  severe  enough  to  knock 
down  horses  and  destroy  awnings),  a  number  of  hail-stones  of 
several  sizes  and  shapes,  and  to  cut  them  through  various  parts 
in  order  to  ascertain  the  character  of  their  formation.  Very  few 
even  approximated  roundness  in  form,  and  some  of  them  were 
four  or  five  inches  long,  and  not  more  than  an  inch  and  a  half 
through  the  middle,  tapering  off  to  both  ends.  More  curious, 
however,  than  their  shape,  was  their  interior  construction. 
They  showed,  when  divided  by  a  knife,  at  right  angles  to 
their  length,  concentric  layers  of  frozen  water  lying  upon  each 
other  just  as  do  the  layers  of  an  onion.  This  proves  conclu- 
sively that  the  agency  indispensable  to  their  formation  must  be 
a  cyclonic  storm,  of  some  considerable  duration  in  time,  in  the 
upper  region  of  the  atmosphere,  in  the  whirl  of  which  they  are 
clothed  with  successive  coats  of  frozen  water.  Imagining  that 


THE   INFLUENCE    OF    CLIMATE    UPON    HEALTH.  26l 

he  had  seen  a  hail-storm  of  unprecedented  violence  and  product 
in  size  of  hail-stones,  and  happening  to  meet,  a  few  weeks  after- 
wards, the  celebrated  meteorologist,  Professor  Loomis,  the  ob- 
server narrated  to  him  his  late  experience;  but  Professor 
Loomis  informed  him  that  he  had  the  record  of  a  hail-storm, 
in  South  America,  in  which  the  stones  that  fell  were  as  large 
as  small  oranges.  Hail  storms  are  of  most  frequent  occurrence 
in  the  temperate  zones.  They  are,  however,  most  severe  in  the 
tropics. 

When  the  temperature  of  the  atmosphere  is  at  or  only  a  little 
below  the  freezing-point,  the  precipitated  moisture  of  clouds 
takes  the  form  of  snow.  Snow  consists  of  a  great  variety  of 
forms  of  beautiful  crystals,  having  usually  that  of  six-pointed 
stars.  The  numerous  forms  have  been  reduced  from  observation 
to  five  typical  ones;  similar  forms  predominating  in  one  fall  of 
snow  as  compared  with  those  of  another  fall.  The  largest  flakes 
are  produced  when  the  temperature  is  just  at  or  about  the  freez- 
ing-point. Smaller  crystals  are  produced  when  the  air  is  dryer 
and  colder.  These  crystals  contain  air  of  about  ten  times  their 
own  volume,  and  for  that  reason  snow  is  a  poor  conductor  of 
heat.  So  it  happens  that  snow  is  a  good  protector  of  the  ground, 
restraining  loss  of  heat  by  radiation  from  it.  So  it  also  is,  that 
a  person,  overwhelmed  by  new-fallen  snow,  as  sometimes  hap- 
pens in  the  St.  Bernard  Pass,  does  not  die  at  once  from  exposure 
to  cold.  The  whiteness  of  new-fallen  snow  is  caused  by  reflection 
of  light  from  the  crystals  of  which  it  is  composed.  It  is  from 
ten  to  twelve  times  lighter  than  the  same  volume  of  water. 

The  phenomenon  of  red  snow  was  at  one  time  very  mys- 
terious. It  was  known  to  Aristotle,  and  is  mentioned  by  Pliny. 
It  has  been  observed  upon  the  Alps,  the  Apennines,  and  the 
Pyrenees.  Captain  Ross,  in  1819,  saw  crimson  snow  covering 
the  cliffs  along  the  shores  of  Baffin's  Bay  for  a  distance  of  eight 
miles.  The  color  has  been  ascertained  to  be  owing  to  the  pres- 
ence of  a  one-celled  plant  of  the  order  of  algae.  In  1838, 


262  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

some  French  scientists  traversed,  in  Spitzbergen,  a  field  of  snow 
which  seemed  green  when  pressed  under  foot. 

Although  we  are  not  aware  of  the  fact  from  our  sensations, 
the  atmosphere  has  weight.  It  presses  with  a  weight  of  about 
fifteen  pounds  to  the  square  inch  everywhere  at  the  level  of  the 
sea.  This  enormous  pressure  is  not  perceived  by  us  because  it 
is  equal  in  all  directions,  inside  as  well  as  outside  of  our  bodies. 
When  the  equilibrium  is  disturbed,  as  it  may  be  by  an  air-pump, 
by  exhausting  all  the  air  of  the  interior  of  a  light  glass  cylinder 
attached  to  it,  the  weight  of  the  atmosphere  breaks  the  cylinder 
with  a  crash.  As  we  rise  above  sea-level  the  pressure  diminishes 
at  the  rate  of  a  pound  for  every  two  thousand  feet.  The  ele- 
vation of  a  country  has,  therefore,  a  decided  influence  upon  ani- 
mal and  vegetable  life.  The  effect  of  lessened  atmospheric  pres- 
sure upon  the  human  body  is  clearly  exhibited  in  mountain-climb- 
ing and  in  balloon  ascensions.  At  a  moderate  height  a  sensa- 
tion of  exhilaration  is  experienced.  At  the  height  of  ten  to 
sixteen  thousand  feet  the  heart  beats  quickly,  the  breathing 
becomes  rapid  and  difficult,  and  at  a  greater  height,  fainting 
may  occur.  On  September  5,  1862,  Mr.  James  Glaisher,  of 
England,  with  a  companion,  Mr.  Coxwell,  reached  the  greatest 
height  that  has  ever  been  attained  in  the  atmosphere,  thirty-seven 
thousand  feet — that  is,  seven  miles.  At  the  upper  part  of  the 
flight,  Mr.  Glaisher  became  insensible  for  seven  minutes,  and 
Mr.  Coxwell  came  very  near  succumbing  in  the  same  way;  for 
losing  all  power  in  his  arms  and  hands,  and  being  obliged  to 
pull  the  valve-rope  in  order  to  release  the  gas  to  cause 
the  balloon  to  descend,  he  could  accomplish  it  only  by 
grasping  the  rope  with  his  teeth  and  jerking  upon  it  three 
times.  Both  men  were  fearfully  disorganized,  as  reported  by 
themselves  to  each  other  of  sensations  experienced,  and  by  Mr. 
Coxwell  of  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Glaisher.  A  full  account 
of  the  twenty-eight  ascensions  made  by  Mr.  Glaisher  is  to  be 
found  in  the  reports  for  1862-66  of  the  "British  Associa- 
tion for  the  Advancement  of  Science."  As  the  atmospheric 


THE   INFLUENCE   OF    CLIMATE    UPON    HEALTH.  263 

pressure  is  said  to  diminish  by  the  weight  of  a  pound  for  every 
two  thousand  feet  of  elevation,  it  must  mean  only  for  the  lowest 
strata  of  air,  for  these  balloonists  went  up  thirty-seven  thous- 
and feet.  The  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  at  the  point  which 
they  reached  would,  according  to  the  statement  unqualified,  be 
less  than  zero,  which  is  impossible,  for  at  zero  the  balloon  would 
not  have  floated.  This  shows  that,  as  the  atmosphere  becomes 
of  greater  and  greater  tenuity  with  ascent,  the  rule  of  a  pound 
in  pressure  lost  for  every  two  thousand  feet  is  only  applicable  to 
the  very  lowest  strata  of  the  atmosphere,  and  very  roughly  even 
with  that  fact  taken  into  account;  a  conclusion  which  it  is  very 
evident  must  be  a  true  one,  even  without  the  demon- 
stration here  given.  Anyhow,  the  region  which  Mr.  Glaisher 
and  his  companion  reached  exhibited  a  tenuity  of  atmosphere 
not  sufficient  in  density  to  support  life.  One  of  the  pigeons  re- 
leased dropped  like  a  stone,  and  another  one  of  the  pigeons 
died.  It  is  presumable  that  part  of  the  salutary  effect  upon 
health  of  a  moderate  elevation  in  mountain  climate  depends 
upon  the  slight  reduction  there  of  atmospheric  pressure.  Water, 
at  the  level  of  the  sea,  boils  at  two  hundred  and  twelve 
degrees  Fahrenheit,  because  it  is  there  at  an  atmospheric  pres- 
sure of  about  fifteen  pounds  to  the  square  inch.  But,  as  the 
pressure  of  the  atmosphere  decreases  at  the  rate  of  a  pound  in 
weight  for  every  two  thousand  feet  of  a  mountain  side  (roughly 
so,  as  just  demonstrated,  and  only  for  heights  inconsiderable 
as  compared  with  those  which  Mr.  Glaisher  reached)  water  boils 
at  a  lower  temperature,  in  proportion  to  the  height  of  a  point 
reached.  Consequently,  to  cook  anything  to  the  proper  degree 
at  a  very  great  elevation,  it  must  be  cooked  much  longer  than 
it  would  be  at  the  level  of  the  sea.  A  few  years  ago,  a  couple 
of  travelers,  at  a  great  mountain  height,  stopped  at  a  hostelry, 
and  said  to  mine  host :  "We  are  in  a  great  hurry ;  let  us  have 
a  snack,  right  off,  a  couple  of  eggs  and  some  bread  and  butter." 
"All  right,"  said  mine  host,  "but  if  you  must  have  boiled  eggs, 
you'll  have  to  wait  seventeen  minutes."  "Seventeen  minutes!" 


264  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

exclaimed  the  travelers,  "to  boil  eggs?"     "Yes,  gentlemen,"  re- 
plied mine  host,  "You  forget  how  high  you  are." 

The  most  prominent  features  of  a  landscape  are  generally 
mountains,  hills,  forests,  and  various  bodies  of  water — lakes, 
rivers,  and  brooks.  Differences  among  these  various  features 
influence  the  character  of  a  climate.  Furthermore,  the  character 
of  a  soil  is  influential  in  the  kind  of  atmosphere  present. 
Mountains,  and  especially  chains  of  mountains,  act  both  as  col- 
lectors and  distributors  of  water.  Mountain  air  is  pure,  cool, 
and  dry.  The  water  which  the  mountains  absorb  is  ultimately 
collected  below  in  springs,  which  are  the  sources  of  rivers.  Even 
where  there  is  a  perpetual  line  of  snow,  glaciers  eventually  bring 
the  snow  down  to  the  melting  levels,  so  that  water  received  first 
in  the  form  of  snow,  then  converted  into  ice,  finds  its  destination 
sooner  or  later  below  for  purposes  of  navigation  and  fertilization 
within  a  continent. 

The  comparative  absence  or  lack  of  water  in  a  region  has 
great  influence  upon  climate,  for  it  has  effect  both  on  tempera- 
ture and  humidity  of  the  air.  Water  communicates  moisture  to 
the  atmosphere  and  absorbs  heat  from  it.  Water  absorbs  heat 
reluctantly  and  parts  with  it  reluctantly.  For  these  reasons  its 
presence  tends  to  make  the  temperature  of  a  place  equable, 
thus  moderating  the  heat  of  summer  and  the  cold  of  winter. 
There  is  a  physical  law  regarding  matter  with  relation  to  heat 
which  every  one  should  know.  Whatever  substance  absorbs  heat 
readily,  radiates  it  readily;  whatever  substance  absorbs  heat 
reluctantly,  radiates  it  reluctantly.  The  latter  case  is  conspicu- 
ously exhibited  by  water.  Take  the  case  of  sand,  for  exhibition 
of  the  opposite  action.  On  the  beach  at  noontide  on  a  hot  day 
the  sand  is  so  hot  as  to  be  scarcely  bearable  by  the  hand  plunged 
into  it ;  but  in  the  night,  in  the  same  place,  it  is  remarkably  cool. 
Bricks  absorb  heat  with  the  greatest  ease  from  the  sun's  rays 
and  radiate  it  intensely  for  hours  afterwards  in  the  shade. 

Collections  of  water  in  which  there  is  but  little  move- 
ment of  current,  and  those  in  which  there  is  none  at  all,  which 


THE   INFLUENCE   OF    CLIMATE    UPON    HEALTH.  265 

are,  in  fact,  stagnant,  diminish  the  salubrity  of  the  air.  Stag- 
nant water  is  full  of  the  growths  of  low  forms  of  vegetation,  ac- 
companied with  decay.  Malarial  fevers  prevail  where  the 
ground  is  so  covered  in  any  great  degree.  The  higher  class  of 
vegetation,  on  the  contrary — trees  and  forests — is  salubrious, 
protecting  the  ground  from  undue  heat,  distributing  the  water 
supply  of  a  country  equably.  Besides,  the  leaves  of  trees  decom- 
pose the  carbonic  acid  in  the  air,  appropriating  to  their  life  the 
carbon  and  setting  free  the  oxygen  in  it,  which  is  therefore 
abundant  in  the  air  of  woods. 

A  certain  part  of  the  oxygen  liberated  is,  moreover, — es- 
pecially among  the  pines  and  other  cone-bearing  trees, — con- 
verted into  a  form  of  atmosphere  known  as  ozone.  Ozone  is  a 
peculiar  modification  of  oxygen.  It  possesses  energetic  purify- 
ing power  and  health-giving  influence.  A  trace  of  it  is  usually 
present  in  country  air.  It  is  found  particularly  in  pine  forests 
and  in  sea  and  mountain  air.  It  is  developed  by  thunder-storms. 
Its  existence  had  long  been  known  before  its  nature  was  dis- 
covered. It  can  be  produced  by  the  working  of  a  static  elec- 
trical machine ;  the  odor  produced  by  it  being  very  marked  and 
peculiar.  A  distinguished  German  scientist  points  out  the  curi- 
ous fact  that  its  sulphurous  smell,  produced  also  by  lightning, 
is  mentioned  in  four  passages  by  Homer.  It  was  observed  by 
the  ancients  that  a  forest  situated  between  a  tract  of  swamp 
and  a  city  protected  the  city  from  malaria.  This  must  have 
been  because  the  generation  of  oxygen  and  ozone  by  the  forest, 
combined  with  the  prevalent  wind,  dissipated  the  malarial 
poison.  An  extremely  great  improvement  has  been  made  of  late 
years  in  the  neighborhood  of  Rome  by  planting  eucalyptus  trees 
around  the  swamps  in  the  vicinity. 

Destruction  of  forest  trees  beyond  a  certain  point  renders 
the  atmosphere  of  a  country  so  dry  as  to  bring  about  droughts. 
In  the  United  States  the  wanton  cutting  down  of  trees,  and  their 
wholesale  destruction  for  timber  has  led  at  last  to  restrictions 
under  forestry  laws.  The  establishment  of  Arbor  Day  is  leading 


266  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

the  minds  of  the  people  to  some  just  appreciation  of  the  necessity 
of  arboriculture.  Trees  conduct  heat  slowly,  and  therefore  do 
not  gain  and  lose  heat  so  rapidly  as  does  the  air.  They  do  not 
reach  their  highest  and  lowest  degrees  of  temperature  until 
some  hours  after  the  surrounding  atmosphere  has  reached  its 
highest  and  lowest  points  of  heat.  For  this  reason  forests  make 
the  nights  warmer  and  the  days  cooler  than  they  would  be  with- 
out their  existence.  The  density  of  the  air  under  the  forest's 
growth  being,  in  the  daytime,  on  account  of  its  lower  tempera- 
ture, greater  than  that  of  the  surrounding  country,  the  surround- 
ing air  flows  into,  and  the  forest  air  out  of  the  trees,  thus  making 
a  breeze.  Almost  everyone  must  have  noticed  how,  even  on  a 
calm,  hot  day,  a  little  breeze  is  to  be  found  on  the  edge  of  woods. 
Climate  is  affected,  as  already  said,  by  soil.  The  reason  of  the 
fact  is  that  soils  are  of  different  physical  and  chemical  characters, 
and  also  are  more  or  less  absorbent  of  water.  The  atmosphere 
is  chiefly  warmed  by  radiation  of  heat  from  the  earth's  surface, 
not  directly  by  the  sun's  rays.  The  atmosphere  which  is  in  con- 
tact, and  which  is  nearest  to  contact,  with  the  earth,  is  therefore 
warmer  than  that  further  away  from  it.  Deserts  are  hot  by  day 
and  cold  by  night,  the  heat  received  during  the  day  having  largely 
radiated  from  the  sand  at  night.  Loam  and  clay  not  being  con- 
ductors of  heat  so  good  as  sand  is,  they  receive  heat  slowly  and 
part  with  it  slowly.  So,  these  soils  are  neither  so  hot  by  day 
nor  so  cold  by  night  as  a  sandy  soil  is. 

The  atmosphere  contains  free  electricity.  The  amount  of 
it  present  varies  in  different  regions  and  at  different  times.  The 
electrical  tension  increases  with  elevation  above  the  surface  of 
the  earth.  It  varies  anywhere  with  the  time  of  day.  Soon 
after  sunrise,  and  soon  after  sunset,  there  is  an  increase  in  the 
electrical  tension;  whereas,  shortly  before  sunrise,  and  in  the 
afternoon,  during  the  warmest  part  of  the  day,  a  diminution  in 
it  is  observable. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

VENTILATION. 

THE  atmosphere  is  a  mixture,  not  a  chemical  combination, 
of  the  two  gases  called  oxygen  and  nitrogen.  They  form 
the  atmosphere  in  the  ratio  to  each  other  of  nearly  four 
parts  in  volume  of  nitrogen  to  one  of  oxygen.  Gases  mix,  in 
certain  proportions,  with  one  another  so  intimately,  that  in  the 
case  of  the  atmosphere,  it  is  steadily  constant  in  the  character 
described.  Both  the  oxygen  and  the  nitrogen  maintain,  when 
mixed,  their  own  physical  and  chemical  properties  unaltered. 
Their  combination  is  merely  the  association  of  their  respective 
molecules.  This  has  been  demonstrated  by  a  number  of  experi- 
ments. The  office  of  nitrogen  in  the  atmosphere  is  simply  the  dilu- 
tion of  the  oxygen  there.  It  is  not  poisonous,  but  it  is  incapable 
of  supporting  animal  life.  Oxygen,  on  the  other  hand,  although 
in  its  atmospherically  diluted  state  indispensable  to  life,  by  itself 
rapidly  exhausts  vitality.  It  is  of  all  the  elements  most  abundant 
and  important  and,  as  diluted  by  nitrogen,  perfectly  fitted  for 
sustenance  of  life. 

It  is  known  from  chemistry  that  the  three  forms  of  matter, 
solid,  liquid,  and  gaseous,  depend  for  their  constitution  upon 
associated  degrees  of  heat  and  pressure.  The  application  of 
heat  readily  converts  many  liquids  into  the  gaseous  condition. 
The  abstraction  of  heat,  and  the  application  of  great  pressure, 
converts  gases  into  liquids.  Many  gases  have,  in  this  way, 
been  converted  into  solids.  Water  freezes  into  ice,  and  may 
evaporate  in  the  form  of  vapor.  Chemists  have  lately  succeeded 
in  abstracting  heat  and  compressing  air  to  so  great  a  degree  as 
to  make  it  liquid.  A  distinguished  Swiss  chemist  has  since 
discovered  a  method  of  preserving  liquid  air  in  great  quantities. 
It  is  anticipated  that  this  discovery  may  lead  to  important  revela- 
tions in  physics  and  chemistry. 

267 


268  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

In  an  interesting  article  upon  the  subject  of  the  atmosphere, 
an  English  chemist  asserts  that  its  composition  is  still  slowly 
undergoing  change,  there  being  now  less  carbonic  acid  in  it  than 
there  was  fifty  years  ago.  In  the  early  period  of  vegetation  of 
the  earth,  when  gigantic  lower  forms  of  vegetation,  ferns,  etc., 
were  produced,  now  only  fossil,  the  atmosphere  was  heavily 
charged  with  carbonic  acid. 

The  atmosphere  which  surrounds  the  earth  is  analogous  to 
its  oceans  below.  The  atmosphere,  as  already  said,  is  com- 
posed of  .two  intermingled  gases,  oxygen  and  nitrogen.  Water 
everywhere  is  composed  of  the  two  gases,  hydrogen  and  oxygen. 
But  there  is  this  difference  between  them :  that,  whereas  the 
atmosphere  is  a  mechanical  mixture  of  its  two  gases,  water  is 
a  chemical  mixture  of  its  two  gases. 

All  animals,  even  aquatic  ones,  breathe  atmospheric  air,  and 
cannot  dispense  with  oxygen  to  support  life.  The  fish,  when  re- 
moved from  the  water,  dies,  because  its  anatomical  apparatus  of 
gills  is  not  competent  to  utilize  in  the  air  the  oxygen  of  the 
atmosphere  which  it  obtains  in  the  water.  Man  and  the  lower 
terrestrial  animals  immediately  perish  in  water  because  they 
are  not  able  there,  when  submerged,  to  utilize  the  oxygen  which 
is  there  chemically  combined  to  form  water  and  also  free  in 
atmospheric  form ;  for  in  water  there  is  a  certain  amount  of  air, 
as  anyone  can  easily  perceive  by  boiling  water,  which,  without 
that  air,  becomes  insipid,  what  is  called  flat  to  the  taste.  Am- 
phibious animals  live  in  either  element,  air  or  water,  but  they 
breathe  in  the  air.  Seals  come  to  the  surface  to  breathe,  so 
do  crocodiles,  alligators,  porpoises,  and  whales.  But  seals,  por- 
poises, and  whales  are  not  amphibious  and  not  in  any  respect 
like  fish.  It  comes  to  this,  however,  that  all  animals — man,  the 
terrestial  lower  animals,  the  aquatic,  the  amphibious,  all  require 
oxygen  to  enable  them  to  live. 

A  current  of  air,  being  a  current,  resembles  a  stream  of 
water.  The  flow  of  air,  which,  when  rapid,  we  call  wind,  is 
regulated  and  directed  in  the  open  country  in  the  manner  elabor- 


VENTILATION.  269 

ately  described  in  the  last  chapter.  What  we  now  have  to  do  with 
in  this  chapter  is  that  limited  species  of  flow  which  depends 
upon  differences  of  density  in  different  bodies  of  air  in  prox- 
imity to  each  other,  upon  which  depends  our  ability  to  ventilate 
houses  in  the  interest  of  health.  As  it  is  so  pervasive,  from  the 
fact  of  its  constitution  as  a  gas,  interchange  among  its  parts  takes 
place  through  crevices  of  all  sorts  in  the  rooms  of  a  house.  Such 
ventilation  as  that,  however,  which  takes  place  to  greater  or  less 
degree  in  the  habitations  of  mankind,  simply  perforce  of  the 
constitution  of  air,  is  very  far  from  being  that  which  is  pre- 
scribed by  reason,  upon  the  basis  of  experience,  supported  by 
scientific  knowledge. 

The  occupation  of  an  apartment  by  human  beings  is  accom- 
panied by  their  discharge  into  it  of  the  waste  of  the  body,  chiefly 
from  their  lungs,  which  waste  is  called  carbonic  acid  gas,  a 
deadly  poison  to  animal,  but  the  food  of  vegetable  life.  If  the 
occupation  of  the  apartment  by  human  beings  be  accompanied 
by  the  burning  of  lights,  the  accumulation  of  carbonic  acid  gas 
in  it  is  increased,  for  the  oxygen  of  the  air  is  burnt  out  of  it  to 
feed  the  lights.  Oxygen,  in  a  word,  will  not  burn,  but  it  is 
oxygen  only  that  supports  combustion.  Carbonic  acid  gas,  on  the 
contrary,  not  only  does  not  support  combustion,  but  depresses  it. 
Go  into  a  place  charged  with  it,  holding  a  lighted  candle.  The 
light  burns  dimly.  Subject  a  flame  to  pure  carbonic  acid  gas, 
and  it  is  at  once  extinguished.  So,  carbonic  acid  gas  is  fatal 
to  the  light  of  life  and  to  the  light  of  flame.  This  is  no  mere 
play  of  words  upon  the  word  "light;'*  the  phenomenon  of  ani- 
mal life,  at  any  intensity,  is  analogous  to  light,  because  it  is  sup- 
ported in  the  same  way  as  is  flame,  by  oxygen.  What  men  see, 
they  are  always,  if  it  be  found  dangerous,  on  their  guard  against ; 
but  in  this  case,  they  cannot  see.  Nothing  more  prevalent  is 
found  among  mankind  than  the  notion  that  seeing  is  believing, 
and  only  seeing. 

In  order  to  avoid  having  in  apartments  this  death-dealing 
carbonic  acid  gas,  it  is  necessary  for  health  to  have  ample  means 


270  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

for  the  ingress  and  egress  of  air  from  the  outside  of  a  building. 
In  winter,  supposing  a  house  to  be  artificially  warmed,  even  to 
some  slight  degree,  open  fire-places  and  chimneys  carry  off  a 
great  deal  of  impure  air.  In  summer,  however,  as  it  is  generally 
hotter  outside  of  a  house  than  inside,  those  means  of  getting  rid 
of  impure  air  are  then  of  no  avail.  No  matter,  however,  in 
what  way,  at  the  cold  season,  impure  air  may  be  got  rid  of,  it 
is  important  that  the  source  of  supply  which  replaces  its  lost 
volume  shall  be  pure. 

The  summer  ventilation  of  a  house  must  rely  chiefly  upon 
opening  doors  and  windows,  and  this  be  supplemented  with  the 
air-shafts  which  are  now  introduced  into  the  best  constructed 
houses.  The  outside  air  is  generally  in  large  movement,  and  its 
pressure  on  the  various  vents  of  the  house,  whether  open  door, 
windows,  or  outside  openings  of  air-shafts  creates  ample  ventila- 
tion. The  use  of  open  doors  and  windows  for  part  of  the 
ventilating  apparatus  of  a  house  needs  only  be  coupled  with 
discretion,  based  upon  slight  knowledge  from  experience  that 
avoids  draughts.  Two  windows  opposite  each  other  ought  not 
to  be  raised.  The  best  plan  in  utilizing  windows  for  ventila- 
tion is  to  choose  two  lying  at  an  angle  with  one  another,  and 
to  raise  the  bottom  of  one  and  lower  the  top  of  the  other.  As 
the  air  at  the  top  of  a  room  is  always  hotter  than  at  any  place 
below,  air  will  flow  by  this  arrangement  out  of  the  lowered  top 
of  the  window  and  its  volume  be  supplied  by  air  flowing  into  the 
raised  window. 

With  abundance  of  bed-clothes  for  warmth,  it  is  an  excel- 
lent plan  for  health  to  sleep,  out  of  draught,  with  a  window  half 
open,  even  in  the  winter  time.  But  here  discretion  has  an  oppor- 
tunity for  its  display.  The  plan  of  having  the  window  half 
open  depends  upon  circumstances.  If  it  be  blowing  half  a  gale 
directly  against  the  window,  its  raising  by  three  or  four  inches 
will  give  more  air  to  the  room  than  it  would  receive  half  open 
in  a  calrri.  Again,  suppose  that  the  -outside  temperature  be  barely 
freezing  and  the  time  calm,  the  window  may  with  prudence  be 


VENTILATION. 

raised  high;  but  suppose,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  temperature 
be  at  zero  or  below,  the  window  need  not  be  raised  so  much  to 
effect  the  same  ventilation  that  it  does  at  higher  temperature 
with  widely  opened  sash.  Why?  Because  the  great  density 
of  the  atmosphere  of  the  outside,  at  or  below  zero,  with  relation 
to  the  density  of  the  atmosphere  of  the  room  and  house  causes 
the  same  change  of  temperature  as  before  at  the  expenditure  of 
less  volume  of  air.  With  transoms,  air-shafts,  doors,  and  win- 
dows, we  have  at  hand,  aided  by  a  little  common  sense,  ample 
appliances  in  the  best  constructed  houses  for  ventilation  and 
the  maintenance  of  health.  In  public  halls,  air  is  sometimes 
supplied  by  gratings  in  the  floor.  This  is  an  objectionable  device, 
for  it  permits  of  the  introduction  of  foul  air.  Upright  flues,  in 
communication  with  the  external  atmosphere,  are  a  much  better 
system.  With  open  gratings  near  the  ceiling,  those  make  a  per- 
fect apparatus.  Covers  for  the  ceiling  openings,  found  in  pub- 
lic and  private  structures,  prevent  any  downward  tendency  that 
may  on  occasions  arise  from  pressure  of  wind  outside  the 
building. 

From  the  air  drawn  into  our  lungs  is  abstracted  the  oxy- 
gen which  oxygenates  and  renovates  the  blood,  rendering  it  a 
carrier  of  life  to  all  parts  of  the  body.  The  air  which  we  exhale 
is  laden  with  carbonic  acid  gas  and  other  effete  matter.  A  small 
amount  of  carbonic  acid  gas  is  always  present  in  the  atmosphere 
of  the  country,  a  larger  amount  of  it  in  that  of  cities.  The 
contamination  of  air  by  it  by  more  than  one  part  in  a  thousand 
is  prejudicial  to  health.  It  has  been  calculated  that  the  air  of 
large  cities  contains,  on  an  average,  about  four  parts  of  carbonic 
acid  gas  in  one  thousand  parts  of  air.  In  the  country,  and  in 
small  towns,  the  percentage  may  not  be  greater  than  half  or 
three-quarters  of  this  amount.  An  adult  discharges  from  the 
lungs,  in  breathing,  one  part  of  carbonic  acid  gas  for  every  ten 
thousand  parts  inhaled.  For  a  room,  at  least  one  thousand 
cubic  feet  of  fresh  air  are  hourly  needed  for  each  person's  use, 
in  order  to  maintain  the  air  at  a  healthful  standard  of  purity. 


272  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

In  apartments  where  many  persons  are  assembled,  as  in  theatres, 
halls,  workshops,  and  cars,  the  quantity  of  fresh  air  hourly  re- 
ceived should  be  even  more  than  the  preceding  amount.  The 
demand  for  fresh  air  is  especially  pressing  in  the  wards  of  a  hos- 
pital. 

To  those  occupying  a  room  during  the  pollution  of  its  air 
by  breathing,  the  change,  being  gradual,  may  not  be  apparent; 
but  it  is  recognized  at  once  by  a  person  coming  from  the  fresh 
air  of  outdoors,  who  at  once  pronounces  it  close.  This  is  the 
true  application  of  the  word  "close."  Some  persons  speak  of 
a  room  which  is  merely  too  warm  as  "close,"  but  closeness  in  a 
room  means  the  condition  produced  by  a  large  amount  in  it  of 
carbonic  acid  gas,  perceived  by  the  sense  of  smell.  The  sense 
of  smell  detects  its  presence  although  carbonic  acid  gas  is  odor- 
less. It  is  therefore  clear  that  it  must,  to  excite  the  sense  of 
smell,  be  associated  with  other  matter  when  it  is  thus  perceived ; 
which  conjunction  effects  the  result.  Burning  illuminating  gas 
in  a  room  adds  largely  to  the  excess  of  carbonic  acid  gas  in  it; 
the  flame,  nourished  by  the  oxygen  of  the  air,  causes  the  oxygen 
to  disappear,  and  leaves  in  its  place  carbonic  acid  gas  and  other 
products  of  combustion. 

In  a  small  room  the  breathing  of  an  adult  makes  it  unfit  for 
occupation  in  a  very  short  time  unless  fresh  air  is  entering. 
It  has  been  scientifically  demonstrated  that  carbonic  acid  gas 
exhaled  from  the  lungs  is  much  more  injurious  than  the  same 
gas  introduced  into  a  room  for  experimental  purposes.  This 
proves  that  the  carbonic  acid  gas  is  not  the  only  waste  product 
of  the  body  eliminated  by  the  lungs;  which  product,  being 
waste,  is  injurious  to  the  human  or  any  other  animal  organism. 
In  addition  to  the  exhalation  from  the  lungs,  that  from  the 
skin  must  be  taken  into  account.  The  perspiration  contains 
organic  waste  matter  which,  having  been  rejected  by  the  sys- 
tem as  waste,  is  unfit  to  be  taken  into  the  system  by  the  organs 
of  respiration. 

Danger  from  carbonic  acid  gas  poisoning  is  not  the  only 


VENTILATION1.  2/3 

indictment  that  can  be  made  against  foul  air.  The  microbes 
which  generate  disease  in  the  human  body  flourish  in  foul,  but 
not  in  pure  air.  Experiments  have  shown  that,  even  in  the  best 
ventilated  school-rooms,  the  number  of  microbes  far  exceeds 
those  found  in  the  open  air.  In  ill-ventilated  public  institutions, 
the  number  becomes  enormously  increased.  It  is  no  wonder 
that  contagious  diseases  are  so  often  contracted  in  the  school- 
room. These  microbes  retain  their  vitality  for  an  indefinite  time. 
In  badly-ventilated  school-rooms  they  cannot  be  dislodged  by 
occasional  airing.  There  are,  moreover,  many  affections  not  con- 
sidered contagious,  which  are  produced  by  these  minute  organ- 
isms. The  evil  of  close  rooms,  therefore,  it  is  perceived,  is 
caused  by  slow  poisoning  from  carbonic  acid  gas  together  with 
the  presence  of  disease-bearing  microbes. 

Persons  who  habitually  live  in  close  rooms  suffer  from  lan- 
guor, headache,  nervousness,  and  other  ills,  without  being  aware 
of  the  cause.  Their  breathing,  in  the  neglect  of  exercise,  is 
shallow.  They  are  less  well-nourished  than  those  persons  are 
whose  lungs  inhale  an  ample  supply  of  oxygen.  Their  appetite 
is  poor,  digestion  weak,  muscles  flabby,  blood  impure,  nervous 
system  unstable,  and  its  whole  resistant  power  to  disease  under- 
mined. 

Habitual  respiration  of  impure  air  has  a  bad  influence  upon 
the  health  of  the  skin,  and  therefore  upon  the  goodness  of  the 
complexion.  The  fact  cannot  be  too  strongly  insisted  upon,  that 
the  beauty  of  the  skin  depends  entirely  upon  the  purity  of  the 
blood.  If  ventilation  be  inadequate,  impurities  must  accumulate 
in  the  blood.  The  skin  then  loses  its  bloom  and  acquires  a  yel- 
lowish hue.  It  also  becomes  dry  and  loses  some  of  its  smooth- 
ness and  elasticity.  It  often  becomes  the  seat  of  pimples  and 
blotches.  Even  brownish  patches  are  apt  to  appear  upon  the 
skin.  There  is  in  the  body  an  increase  of  waste-products,  while 
its  power  of  removing  them  is  all  the  time  diminishing.  Again, 
such  feeble  and  unhealthy  skin  offers  no  resistance  to  the  growth 
of  parasitic  microbes  of  the  fungus  type,  which  produce  the 

18 


274  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

fawn-colored  patches  of  discoloration.  When  softness,  smooth- 
ness, healthy  color  of  the  skin  have  been  lost,  even  without  its 
invasion  by  pimples  or  patches,  the  essential  elements  of  beauty 
of  complexion  have  disappeared.  Advantages  of  personal  looks 
depend  so  closely  upon  obedience  to  the  laws  of  health,  that 
those  laws  cannot  be  long  transgressed  without  impairment  or 
loss  of  bodily  charms. 

Charles  Dickens,  although  he  was  no  scientist,  was  a  keen 
observer  from  whom  very  little  escaped  to  which  he  gave  his 
attention.  Observe  what  he  so  forcibly  describes  as  one  of  the 
effects  of  need  of  ventilation  in  his  novel  of  "Our  Mutual 
Friend."  He  is  describing  a  school-room  of  nearly  asphyxiated 
children.  "The  school  at  which  young  Charley  Hexam  had  first 
learned  from  a  book was  a  miserable  loft  in  an  un- 
savory yard.  Its  atmosphere  was  oppressive  and  disagreeable; 
it  was  crowded,  noisy,  and  confusing;  half  the  pupils  dropped 
asleep,  or  fell  into  a  state  of  waking  stupefaction ;  the  other  half 
kept  them  in  either  condition  by  maintaining  a  monotonous, 
droning  noise,  as  if  they  were  performing,  out  of  time  and  tune, 
on  a  rude  sort  of  bagpipe.  The  teachers,  animated  solely  by 
good  intentions,  had  no  idea  of  execution,  and  a  lamentable 

jumble  was  the  upshot  of  their  kind  endeavors And 

particularly  every  Sunday  night.  For  then,  an  inclined  plane 
of  unfortunate  infants  would  be  handed  over  to  the  prosiest  and 
worst  of  all  the  teachers  with  good  intentions,  whom  nobody  else 
would  endure.  Who,  taking  his  stand  on  the  floor  before  them, 
as  chief  executioner,  would  be  attended  by  a  conventional  volun- 
teer boy  as  executioner's  assistant.  When  and  where  it  first  became 
the  conventional  system  that  a  weary  or  inattentive  infant  must 
have  its  face  smoothed  down  with  a  hot  hand,  or  when  or  where 
the  conventional  volunteer  boy  first  beheld  such  system  in  opera- 
tion, and  became  inflamed  with  a  sacred  zeal  to  administer  it, 
matters  not.  It  was  the  function  of  the  chief  executioner  to  hold 
forth,  and  it  was  the  function  of  the  acolyte  to  dart  at  sleep- 
ing infants,  yawning  infants,  restless  infants,  whimpering  in- 


VENTILATION.  2/5 

fants,  and  smooth  their  wretched  faces;  sometimes  with 
one  hand,  as  if  he  were  annointing  them  for  a  whisker;  some- 
times with  both  hands,  applied  after  the  fashion  of  blinkers. 
And  so  the  jumble  would  be  in  action  in  this  department  for  a 
mortal  hour;  the  exponent  drawling  on  to  My  Dearerr  Child- 
errenerr;  let  us  say,  for  example,  about  the  beautiful  coming 
to  the  sepulchre;  and  repeating  the  word  sepulchre  (commonly 
used  among  infants)  five  hundred  times,  and  never  once  hinting 
what  it  meant,  as  an  infallible  commentary;  the  whole  hotbed 
of  flushed  and  exhausted  infants  exchanging  measles,  rashes, 
whooping-cough,  fever,  and  stomach  disorders,  as  if  they  were 
assembled  in  High  Market  for  the  purpose." 

In  the  month  of  June,  in  the  year  1756,  the  English  gar- 
rison attached  to  the  factory  at  Calcutta,  India,  was  over- 
powered by  the  natives,  whose  leader  imprisoned  the  captured, 
one  hundred  and  forty-six  in  number,  in  a  little  room  eighteen 
feet  square,  with  two  little  iron-barred  windows,  since  known  as 
"The  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta."  On  the  following  morning  only 
twenty-three  had  survived  their  imprisonment,  and  of  these, 
some  died  of  what  was  called  in  those  days  "putrid  fever,"  but 
which  is  now  known  as  "blood-poisoning."  In  the  tropical  cli- 
mate of  Calcutta  it  is  very  hot  in  June,  and  doubtless  heat  con- 
tributed to  the  loss  of  life;  but  that  blood-poisoning,  from  car- 
bonic acid  gas,  was  the  chief  cause,  seems  to  be  clearly  shown 
in  the  death  of  some  of  the  survivors  of  the  night.  « 

The  Icelanders  dwell  in  low  huts  entirely  destitute  of  spe- 
cial provision  for  ventilation.  One  opening  serves  the  common 
purpose  of  window  and  chimney.  An  entire  family  usually  has 
but  one  room  for  all  purposes.  Not  only  is  it  the  living  room 
of  the  family,  but  in  winter  it  sometimes  accommodates  sheep. 
The  conditions  are  so  unfavorable  to  health  and  life,  that  al- 
though the  air  of  their  island  is  noted  for  its  purity,  the  popula- 
tion of  Iceland  is  either  stationary  or  diminishing  in  number. 
Nearly  two-thirds  of  the  infants  born  die  before  their  twelfth 
day,  of  a  convulsive  disease  like  lockjaw.  A  particular  form  of 


276  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

lockjaw  (lockjaw  is  medically  called  tetanus)  is  known  to  physi- 
cians as  trismus.  The  coincidence  of  this  disease  with  defective 
ventilation  was  demonstrated  in  1789,  by  Dr.  Joseph  Clarke.  In 
the  year  1783  nearly  every  child  in  the  lying-in  hospital  of 
Dublin  died  within  the  first  fortnight.  Nineteen  out  of  twenty 
deaths  were  caused  by  tetanus.  A  new  system  of  ventilation 
was  then  installed,  and  in  the  succeeding  ten  years  the  number 
of  deaths  had  fallen  to  one  in  nineteen. 

In  the  United  States,  trismus  is  seldom  met  with  except 
among  careless  negroes  and  the  lowest  class  of  our  white  foreign 
population,  herded  in  the  tenement  houses  of  our  large  cities.  It 
is  very  prevalent  on  the  island  of  St.  Hilda,  one  of  the  Western 
Hebrides.  According  to  a  visitor  there,  in  1838,  no  less  than 
four  out  of  every  five  infants  died  from  the  disease  between  the 
eighth  and  twelfth  days  of  their  existence.  He  wrote :  "The 
great,  if  not  the  only  cause  of  this  mortality,  was  the  contamin- 
ation of  the  atmosphere  by  the  filth  among  which  these  people 
lived."  Iceland,  here  just  spoken  of  in  another  connection,  is 
depopulated  by  severe  epidemics  which  happen  almost  every  year. 
The  inhabitants  are  especially  liable  to  scurvy  and  elephantiasis, 
which  latter  disease  attacks  the  feet,  increasing  them  so  enor- 
mously as  to  cause  them  to  be  likened  to  those  of  the  elephant. 

Oxygen  has  to  do  with  the  processes  of  nutrition,  waste, 
and  repair  of  the  body.  By  combination  with  disintegrated  tis- 
sue, with  the  blood,  and  with  elements  of  the  food,  oxygen  pro- 
duces an  effect  which,  being  fundamentally  the  same  as  combus- 
tion, is  bodily  heat.  That  is,  however,  oxygen  as  we  breathe  it, 
diluted  as  it  is  in  the  atmosphere  with  four  times  its  volume  of 
nitrogen.  Pure  oxygen,  remember,  not  only  will  not  support 
vitality,  but  destroys  it.  When  you  read  of  patients  being  given 
oxygen  for  a  last  struggle  for  life,  they  are  given  it  in  moderation 
as  increment  to  that  already  in  the  atmosphere. 

The  symptoms  of  asphyxia  from  carbonic  acid  gas  poison- 
ing are  violent  inspiratory  efforts  (struggle  to  draw  in  the 


VENTILATION. 

breath),  followed  by  violent  expiratory  efforts  (struggle  to  expel 
the  breath),  by  convulsions,  and  by  speedy  death. 

Exercise  strengthens  the  muscles  of  respiration,  increases 
the  capacity  of  the  chest  and  of  the  lungs,  and  demands  an 
increased  amount  of  oxygen  for  the  body.  During  the  hours  of 
sleep,  ventilation  of  the  kind  which  has  been  here  described  se- 
cures an  ample  supply  of  it.  The  meaning  of  ventilation,  stated  in 
the  simplest  possible  terms,  is  exchange  of  foul  air  for  pure  air. 
Atmosphere  heavily  laden  with  carbonic  acid  gas  and  other 
deleterious  products  of  the  human  organism,  from  lungs  and 
skin,  is  exchanged  for  a  pure  supply.  Provision  must  therefore 
be  made  equally  for  the  removal  of  foul  and  the  entrance  of 
pure  air.  If  this  be  not  done,  health  must  suffer,  vigor  fail,  and 
disease  await  the  neglectful.  It  is  very  important  that  school- 
rooms should  be  well  ventilated,  that  no  injurious  physical  condi- 
tion be  present  among  children.  Youth  is  the  only  time  when 
the  foundation  of  health  and  strength  can  be  laid.  There  are 
even  cases  where  a  delicate  or  even  sickly  boy  or  girl  can,  by 
prudential  measures,  establish  for  life  some  degree  of  health 
and  working  and  pleasure  capacity.  Examples  occur  in  which 
weakly  men  and  women,  by  pertinaciously  living  sanitary  lives, 
reach  extreme  old  age.  They  never  feel  the  intensive  life  of  the 
robust,  but  they  live  equably  on  the  low  level  to  which  they  are 
assigned  by  nature  and  which  they  maintain  with  care.  It  is. 
however,  the  sturdy  boy  or  girl  who,  with  equal  care,  grows  into 
the  vigorous  man  and  woman  in  full  enjoyment  of  all  that  life 
can  impart. 

If  plentiful  supply  of  fresh  air  be  so  desirable  as  it  is  for 
healthy  constitutions,  it  is  even  more  requisite  when  disease  is 
threatening  or  established.  It  removes  the  morbid  exhalations 
from  the  sick-room,  influences  favorably  the  condition  of  the 
patient,  and  diminishes  danger  of  infection  to  others.  Consump- 
tion, for  instance,  is  not  the  invariably  fatal  disease  that  it 
used  to  be  regarded.  There  are  now,  under  improved  methods 
of  treatment  of  fne  present  day,  a  large  percentage  of  cases  where 


2/8  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

the  disease  is  arrested  in  its  progress,  and  sometimes  radically 
cured.  Certain  drugs  which  promote  the  nourishment  of  the 
body  have  a  share  in  producing  this  result,  but  no  medical  treat- 
ment can  avail  unless  it  be  accompanied  by  adequate  oxidation  of 
the  blood  by  pure  air.  Simultaneously,  the  digestive  and  respira- 
tory functions  are  carefully  studied  by  the  physician,  and  exer- 
cise and  ventilation  in  the  house  insisted  upon  by  him  as  indis- 
pensable to  treatment. 

In  all  fevers,  especially  when  prolonged,  it  is  essential  that 
the  sick  room  should  be  well  ventilated,  for  fever  causes  act- 
ive destruction  of  the  tissues  of  the  body.  The  popular  notion 
of  fever  as  a  sort  of  fire  is  quite  correct.  The  exhalations 
thrown  off  by  the  body  must  be  removed  by  a  gentle  flow  of  air 
through  the  sickroom.  Perfect  ventilation  is  imperatively  de- 
manded in  typhoid  fever  on  account  of  its  duration,  and  the 
eruptive  fevers  require  equal  care.  Ventilation  is  needed  in 
scarlet  fever  and  measles,  and  in  all  cases  it  is  incumbent  upon 
the  person  who  has  it  in  charge  that  a  patient  shall  never  be 
exposed  to  a  draught.  In  small-pox,  purification  of  the  air  of 
the  sickroom  is  of  the  most  urgent  necessity  for  the  sake  of  the 
patient  and  that  of  other  persons. 

The  essence  of  hygienic  rules  is  given  by  a  medical  writer 
as  follows: — 

"Cleanliness  covers  the  whole  field  of  sanitary  life.  Cleanli- 
ness, that  is,  purity  of  air ;  cleanliness,  that  is,  purity  of  water ; 
cleanliness  in  and  around  the  house;  cleanliness  of  persons; 
cleanliness  of  dress,  cleanliness  of  food  and  feeding;  cleanliness 
in  work ;  cleanliness  in  habits  of  the  individual  man  and  woman ; 
cleanliness  of  life  and  conversation;  purity  of  life,  temperance, 
all  these  are  in  man's  power." 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

DISFIGUREMENT  FROM   DISEASE,   WITH   SOME  TREAT- 
MENT FOR  IT. 

/^""^OMPLEXION,  a  word  which  is  usually  made  to  refer  only 
^— ^  to  the  qualities  of  the  skin  of  the  face,  is  one  which  by 
rights  may  refer  to  the  whole  body.  Complexion  depends 
upon  the  uniformity  of  the  delicacy  and  translucency  of  the  true 
skin  and  the  scarf-skin,  the  condition  of  the  blood,  and  of  the 
nervous  system.  If  any  one  of  these  elements  be  defective  or 
disturbed,  complexion  is  seriously  marred.  Individual  differ- 
ences exist  in  the  thickness  of  the  true  skin  and  in  the  smooth- 
ness and  lustre  of  the  scarf-skin,  and  upon  these  depend  the 
range  of  beauty  inherent  in  the  normal  skin.  The  color  of  a 
thick  and  harsh  skin  cannot,  of  course,  equal  that  of  a  thin,  soft, 
and  delicate  one.  If  the  blood  appreciably  departs  from  its 
healthy  standard,  the  skin  must  show  loss  of  color.  If  the  ner- 
vous apparatus  which  governs  the  circulation  and  the  secretions 
of  the  body  be  disordered,  the  changes  of  hue  in  the  skin  in 
response  to  emotion  must  be  diminished.  The  beauty  of  the 
skin  is,  in  a  word,  affected  by  a  number  of  causes,  constitutional 
and  acquired. 

CONSTITUTIONAL  CONDITION    OF   THE   SKIN. 

A  constitutional  condition  of  the  skin  which  is  congenitally 
low  is  associated  with  invalidism,  to  which  attention  is  much 
more  naturally  directed  than  to  anything  bearing  upon  the  looks 
of  the  patient.  The  paleness  of  consumption,  accentuated  by  the 
well-known  hectic  flush  on  the  cheeks,  is  ineradicable.  There 
is  a  disease  in  which  the  lymphatic  glands,  the  spleen,  and  the 
marrow  of  the  bones  produce  white  corpuscles  in  the  blood  to  an 
inordinate  degree,  and  the  skin,  in  consequence,  assumes  a  very 
peculiar  yellowish  hue.  In  cases  of  illness  associated  with  long 

279 


280  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

and  profuse  discharge  of  matter,  the  blood  becomes  changed 
and  various  organs  of  the  body  undergo  a  characteristic  form  of 
degeneration.  The  existence  of  a  certain  other  systemic  malady 
is  accompanied  by  the  bronzing  of  the  skin.  Imperfect  action 
of  the  liver  is  characterized  by  a  sallow  complexion. 

PALLOR. 

Anccmia  is  the  name  given  by  the  medical  profession  to  the 
condition  of  the  body  in  which  there  is  an  abnormal  reduction 
of  red  corpuscles  in  the  blood.  It  may  be  due  purely  to  consti- 
tutional disease,  or  to  an  insufficient  or  improper  supply  of  food, 
or  perhaps  to  dyspepsia.  Nervous  influence,  such  as  fear,  may 
occasion  anaemia.  Dr.  Wilkes  writes:  "I  have  seen  now  so 
many  cases  of  anaemia,  some  of  them  fatal,  occurring  upon  a 
severe  shock  of  the  nervous  system,  that  I  have  no  doubt  of  the 
fact."  In  anaemia,  the  digestion  is  poor,  the  extremities  low 
in  temperature,  the  heart  feeble  and  irregular  in  pulsation,  the 
movements  of  the  body  languid.  It  is  of  more  frequent  occur- 
rence in  women  than  in  men. 

GREEN-SICKNESS. 

A  peculiar  form  of  anaemia,  occurring  in  young  girls,  is 
known  medically  as  chlorosis,  a  word  which  means  "green- 
sickness," in  reference  to  the  peculiar  greenish  tint  which  the 
skin  assumes.  Chlorosis  is  prevalent,  or  used  to  be,  at  girls' 
boarding-schools.  The  remedial  measures  which  should  be 
adopted  for  it  consist  in  removal  from  school,  generous  diet, 
exercise  in  the  open  air,  and  general  change  of  habits ;  also  the 
employment  of  tonics,  especially  iron.  The  appetite  should  be 
pampered,  and  animal  food  eaten  to  a  proper  amount. 

BILIOUSNESS. 

When  the  liver  is  torpid,  the  skin  and  the  whites  of  the 
eyes  become  yellowish.  With  certain  persons  the  condition  is 
chronic,  The  breath  may  have  so  bad  an  odor  as  to  be  discern- 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.  28 1 

ibie  even  by  the  sufferer.  The  bowels  are  generally  constipated, 
only  occasionally  relaxed.  In  the  course  of  time  the  complexion 
becomes  impaired.  The  persons  so  afflicted  must  be  careful  in 
diet  and  exercise.  They  must  not  lavishly  indulge  in  fats  and 
sweets,  and  animal  food  must  be  eaten  in  moderation.  Malt 
and  spirituous  liquors  are  always  bad  for  such  cases.  Walking 
and  horseback  riding  are  very  advantageous  in  them,  also  bathing. 
In  all  cases  of  biliousness,  it  is  important  that  the  bowels  should 
be  kept  free,  not  by  purges,  but  by  gentle  purgatives  when  neces- 
sary. Best  of  all  for  such  cases  is  the  employment  of  some  laxa- 
tive water.  Saratoga,  Vichy,  Friedrichshall,  Hunyadi-Janos,  or 
Carlsbad  salts.  The  fluid  extract  of  cascara  sagrada,  taken  in 
half  teaspoonful  doses  at  night,  two  or  three  times  a  week,  serves 
a  good  purpose. 

YELLOW   DISCOLORATION    OF   THE   SKIN    ( JAUNDICE.) 

Jaundice  visits  the  skin  with  a  color  varying  from  that  of 
sulphur,  orange,  or  saffron,  even  to  that  of  olive.  This  discolor- 
ation pervades  not  only  the  skin,  but  the  deeper  tissues  of  the 
body,  the  secretions,  and  the  excretions.  Patients  feel  weak, 
spiritless,  have  coated  tongues,  no  appetite,  and  often  have  nau- 
sea. The  pulse  is  generally  very  slow  and  headache  is  experi- 
enced. The  temperature  is  sometimes  below  normal,  and  drowsi- 
ness present.  The  commonest  cause  of  jaundice  is  obstruction  of 
bile  from  the  liver  on  its  way  to  the  intestinal  canal,  which  leads 
to  the  bile  being  carried  into  the  circulation,  just  as,  in  another 
case,  a  gall-stone  somewhere  in  the  common  duct  of  the  liver 
forms  an  impediment  to  the  release  of  bile  in  the  natural  way, 
and  in  consequence  it  enters  the  circulation.  Gall-stones  are 
of  most  frequent  occurrence  in  and  after  middle-life.  They  are 
more  frequent  in  the  female  than  in  the  male  sex.  They  are  more 
common  with  fleshy  than  with  thin  persons. 

The  passage  of  a  large  gall-stone  along  the  common  duct  of 
the  liver  is  productive  of  extreme  pain,  called  hepatic  or  liver 
colic.  When  the  stone  reaches  the  bowel,  the  pain  rapidly  sub- 


282  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

sides,  leaving  some  tenderness,  and  the  jaundice  gradually  dis- 
appears. The  passage  may  be  closed  by  inflammatory  obstruc- 
tions, which  make  a  prolonged,  perhaps  permanent,  jaundice. 
If  this  condition  cannot  be  removed,  death  takes  place  at  a  period 
varying  from  three  months  to  two  years.  Chronic  inflammation 
of  the  stomach,  chronic  gastritis,  may  ultimately  lead  to  jaundice 
by  communication  to  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  small  bowel 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  orifice  of  the  common  duct  of  the 
liver;  the  duct  itself  may  become  involved. 

In  jaundice  the  diet  of  the  patient  must  be  regulated. 
Sugars  and  fats  must  be  avoided.  The  patient  should  live  upon 
skimmed  milk,  fish,  oysters,  stale  bread  or  toast,  the  more  easily 
digested  vegetables,  and  strictly  avoid  fermented  and  distilled 
liquors.  The  bowels  must  be  kept  free  by  the  mineral  waters 
previously  named,  or  by  Epsom  or  Rochelle  salts,  or  seidlitz 
powder.  In  the  phosphate  of  soda  we  possess  a  laxative  of  spe- 
cial efficiency  in  this  affection  now  being  discussed.  It  is  given 
in  drachm  doses  three  times  a  day,  dissolved  in  a  little  water 
flavored  with  syrup  of  orange,  or  it  may  be  taken  in  Apollinaris 
or  Vichy  water.  Phosphate  of  soda  has  a  mild,  laxative  effect. 

Another  medicine,  of  quite  an  opposite  chemical  character 
from  phosphate  of  soda,  is  of  decided  usefulness  in  relieving  the 
catarrh  which  occasions  jaundice.  It  is  hydrochloric  acid.  This, 
in  a  diluted  form,  improves  digestion,  diminishes  fermentation 
and  flatulence,  and  favors  the  escape  of  bile  into  the  intestine. 
The  dose  of  the  standard  dilution  is  ten  drops  three  times  a  day, 
in  plenty  of  water,  and  the  teeth  afterwards  rinsed  with  water, 
or  with  salt  and  water,  or  with  a  solution  of  bicarbonate  of  soda. 
The  injection  of  cool  water  into  the  bowel  is  advantageous  for 
relieving  the  catarrh;  the  temperature  from  sixty  to  sixty-five 
degrees  Fahrenheit,  the  operation  performed  once  a  day.  In 
chronic  cases,  the  application  of  galvanic  electricity  has  proved  of 
much  advantage. 

If  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  jaundice  is  of  malarial 
origin,  the  administration  of  quinine  and  its  associated  remedies 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.  283 

in  malarial  poisoning  is  indicated.  In  such  a  condition  good 
results  are  obtained  by  a  combination  of  iron,  quinine,  and 
arsenic  in  the  following  pill  or  capsule : — 

Sulphate  of  quinine 24  grains. 

Dried  sulphate  of  iron 24  grains. 

Arsenious  acid   1  grain. 

Mix  and  make  into  twelve  pills  or  capsules.  Take  one  three  times  a 
day. 

The  passage  of  a  very  large  gall-stone  along  the  duct  gives 
rise  to  excruciating  pain,  which  may  be  alleviated,  in  some 
measure,  by  a  mustard  plaster  or  by  a  warm  flaxseed  poultice 
applied  to  the  abdomen,  or  by  putting  the  patient  in  a  warm  bath. 
It  is,  however,  generally  necessary  to  still  the  pain  by  adminis- 
tering a  dose  of  opium.  A  twenty-  to  a  forty-drop  dose  of 
laudanum  may  be  given,  but  on  account  of  laudanum's  rapidity 
in  effect  and  power,  a  physician  preferably  resorts  to  a  hypo- 
dermic injection  of  the  proper  dose  of  morphine.  It  is  sometimes 
found  advisable  to  cause  the  patient  to  inhale  ether  or  chloro- 
form. An  anaesthetic,  however,  should  be  administered  only 
by  a  physician.  It  is  not  necessary  that  complete  unconscious- 
ness be  produced.  The  physician  best  knows  what  degree  is 
desirable. 

Constipation  so  extreme  as  to  cause  jaundice  calls  for  spe- 
cial treatment.  The  food  of  the  patient  should  be  nutritious  and 
digestible.  Fruits,  cracked  wheat,  graham  or  bran  bread  are 
good  for  the  purpose.  If  the  diseased  condition  has  existed 
long,  it  is  necessary  to  administer  a  brisk  purgative  and  give  an 
injection  of  cool  water.  When  the  constipation  is  habitual,  and 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  muscular  coat  of  the  bowel 
has  become  weak  and  relaxed,  a  pill  composed  of  a  purgative 
and  a  tonic  constituent  is  efficient,  and  is  better  than  a  frequent 
resort  to  saline  purgatives.  Such  a  combination  is  the  fol- 
lowing : — 

Compound  extract  of  colocynth 1  drachm. 

Extract  of  belladonna 2  grains. 

Sulphate  of  strychnine %  grain. 

Powdered  cinnamon    20  grains. 

Mix  and  make  into  twenty  pills.    One  pill  every  night  at  bedtime. 


284  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

A  pill  prescribed  by  Sir  Andrew  Clarke  is  composed  of : — 

Aloin    %  grain. 

Extract  of  belladonna %  grain. 

Dried  sulphate  of  iron %  grain. 

Extract  of  nux  vomica %  grain. 

Powdered  ipecac    %  grain. 

Powdered  myrrh    */>  grain. 

Soap l/2  grain. 

Mix.     For  one  pill — 'take  a  pill  an  hour  before  last  meal   should  the 
bowels  not  act  during  the  day. 


YELLOW  DISCOLORATION   OF  THE  SKIN    (JAUNDICE)    CAUSED 

BY  EMOTION. 

A  number  of  cases  showing  the  intimate  connection  between 
mind  and  body  have  been  medically  reported.  A  young  friend  of 
Dr.  Tuke's  had  a  severe  attack  of  jaundice  which  could  be 
traced  to  nothing  else  than  his  anxiety  as  to  passing  a  pending 
medical  examination.  Dr.  Anthony  Todd  Thompson  states  that 
a  young  man  in  Paris  became  suddenly  jaundiced  from  alarm 
at  having  a  musket  pointed  at  him,  was  taken  to  the  hospital  and 
died.  Dr.  Budd,  an  eminent  authority  on  diseases  of  the  liver, 
observes  that  jaundice  following  mental  shock,  or  long-con- 
tinued anxiety  or  grief,  is  often  unattended  by  any  alarming 
symptoms,  but  adds:  "Now  and  then,  after  it  has  existed 
for  some  time  without  any  symptoms  indicative  of  especial 
danger,  disorder  of  the  brain,  which  proves  rapidly  fatal,  comes 
on."  Professor  Potain  mentions  the  incident  of  two  duellists, 
one  of  whom,  as  he  crossed  swords,  became  so  suddenly  jaun- 
diced, that  his  adversary  dropped  his  weapon  in  amazement. 
He  likewise  cites  the  case  of  a  man  who,  feeling  very  well  when 
he  arose  in  the  morning,  began  to  shave,  but  who,  being  handed 
a  letter  containing  bad  news,  read  it,  and  upon  resuming  his 
shaving,  found  that  he  had  turned  yellow.  He  cites  also  the 
case  of  a  woman  whose  husband  was  made  prisoner  by  the 
Paris  Commune  when  in  revolt  against  the  government,  and 
who  suddenly  turned  yellow  as  she  saw  the  platoon  of  the  firing- 
party  take  aim  at  him.  He  also  relates  the  case  of  a  very  ner- 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.          285 

vous  and  irascible  woman  who  became  jaundiced  while  in  a 
violent  fit  of  anger. 

ACUTE  YELLOW  ATROPHY  OF  THE  LIVER,  OF  NERVOUS  ORIGIN. 

There  is  a  very  severe  and  rapidly  fatal  disease  known 
by  the  above  title.  In  it,  the  liver  shrinks  and  becomes  disor- 
ganized. The  progress  of  the  disease  is  attended  by  nausea, 
jaundice,  excitement,  delirium,  or  stupor,  convulsions  from 
stomach  and  bowels,  and  eruptions  upon  the  skin.  According 
to  Dr.  Murchison  it  may  be  produced  by  emotion,  especially 
anxiety,  fear,  and  grief.  Sir  Thomas  Watson  observes  that 
scores  of  cases  are  on  record  where  jaundice  has  suddenly  ap- 
peared under  such  circumstances,  and  he  adds  that  "these  cases 
are  often  fatal,  with  head-symptoms,  convulsions,  delirium,  or 
coma  supervening  upon  the  jaundice." 

DIABETES. 

This  grave  malady  is  characterized  by  excessive  thirst  and, 
in  many  cases,  by  an  inordinate  appetite.  Boils,  carbuncles,  tet- 
ter, and  ulcers  are  common  during  its  progress.  In  many  cases  it 
occurs  as  the  result  of  nervous  shock,  anxiety,  or  mental  strain. 
Hereditary  derivation  is  often  recognized  in  its  cases.  An  in- 
stance is  cited  where  a  man,  fifty-seven  years  of  age,  whose  father 
had  died  from  diabetes,  was  seized  with  diabetes  owing  to  the 
shock  that  he  received  from  his  daughter's  committing  suicide. 

CONTAGIOUS   DISEASES. 

It  has  been  positively  proved  that  many,  and  it  is  now  be- 
lieved that  all,  contagious  disorders  are  due  to  the  develop- 
ment of  certain  microbes,  which  are  microscopic  fungus  organ- 
isms. A  certain  microbe  is  the  known  exciting  cause  of  diph- 
theria, another  of  cholera,  another  of  erysipelas,  another  of  con- 
sumption. It  has  been  fully  proved  that  fear  contributes  to  the 
spread  of  contagious  diseases  through  its  depressing  influence 
upon  vitality.  Fear,  anxiety,  and  grief  are  known  to  be  capable 


286  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

of  precipitating  attacks  of  yellow  fever  or  of  cholera.  So 
clear  is  the  evidence  that  certain  cases  of  cholera  are  known  as 
"emotional  cholera."  Dr.  Rush,  of  Philadelphia,  recognized  this 
fact  as  long  ago  as  1783,  during  the  epidemic  of  yellow  fever 
there.  Sir  Samuel  Baker,  in  his  work  "Albert  Nyanza,"  speak- 
ing of  his  experiences  in  Africa,  says :  "Any  severe  action  of  the 
mind,  such  as  grief  or  anger,  is  almost  certain  to  be  succeeded 
by  fever  in  this  country,  just  as  full  occupation  of  the  mind 
was  found  to  act  .as  a  prophylactic  against  it." 

DISEASES  OF  THE  SKIN. 

As  the  skin  is  richly  supplied  with  blood-vessels  and  nerves, 
and  as  its  circulation  is  affected  by  emotional  causes,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  many  disorders  follow  mental  excitement.  Some 
of  these  affections,  as,  for  instance,  neitlerash,  betray,  from  the 
circumstances  of  their  abruptness  of  coming  and  going,  the 
influence  that  the  nervous  system  has  in  their  creation.  Sudden 
outbreak  of  tetter,  groups  of  blisters,  pain  or  itching,  point  to  the 
influence  of  the  nervous  system.  Sudden  fading  of  erysipelas  on 
one  part  of  the  body,  and  its  equally  sudden  appearance  on 
another,  perhaps  in  a  corresponding  situation  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  body,  demonstrate  that  the  attack  is  derived  from 
nervous  conditions. 

In  more  chronic  examples,  slower  in  onset  and  more  gradual 
in  progress  and  departure,  physicians  have  learned  that  these 
too  are  often  connected  with  nervous  disturbances.  When  the 
skin  loses  its  proper  nervous  tone,  it  is  liable  to  be  assailed  by 
a  number  of  affections,  some  of  which  may  be  enumerated: 
tetter,  redness,  blisters,  hardening  ulcers.  Disorders  of  the  ner- 
vous system  may  likewise  produce  alterations  of  the  thickness 
of  the  skin,  anomalies  of  the  secretory  functions,  and  changes 
in  hair  and  nails. 

GROUPS    OF    BLISTERS. 

The  little  blisters  that  sometimes  appear  upon  the  lips,  pop- 
ularly called  "cold-sores"  or  "fever-blisters,"  are  often  due  to 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.          287 

general  nervous  depression  or  indigestion.  In  that  form  of  the 
disease  popularly  known  as  "shingles"  nervous  causation  is 
very  apparent.  It  is  accompanied  by  pain  of  neuralgic  character. 
It  may  come  as  a  consequence  of  epidemic  influenza,  la  grippe, 
or  of  cerebro-spinal  meningitis,  popularly  known  as  "spotted 
fever." 

LARGE  BLISTER   OF  THE   SKIN,   OR   PEMPHIGUS. 

Pemphigus  is  an  affection  of  the  skin  which  has  no  popular 
name.  It  is  characterized  by  large  blisters,  which  may  also  be 
numerous.  An  individual  blister  may  attain  the  size  of  a  hen's 
egg.  In  mild  cases  the  general  health  may  not  be  much  affected ; 
in  severe  ones  debility  and  headache  are  present,  and  there  are 
forms  of  the  disease  so  severe  that  they  have  a  fatal  termination. 
Depressed  condition  or  disease  of  the  nervous  system,  or  of 
special  nerves,  may  give  rise  to  the  eruption.  Many  cases  are 
recorded  in  which  an  outbreak  was  secondary  to  some  affection 
of  the  brain  or  spinal  cord.  Excesses,  anxiety,  overwork,  mental 
strain  may  bring  about  the  disease.  An  eruption  of  the  same 
character  sometimes  follows  or  alternates  with  severe  hysterical 
attacks.  Pemphigus  occasionally  manifests  hereditary  con- 
nection. 

REDNESS     OF    THE    SKIN. 

A  diffuse  redness  of  the  skin,  either  uniform  or  interspersed 
with  red  pimples  of  various  sizes,  may  be  caused  by  disturbance 
of  the  nervous  system.  The  complicated  form  of  its  display 
is  generally  symmetrical.  Redness  may  occur  as  the  result  of 
perverted  action  of  the  nerves  which  control  the  blood-vessels  of 
the  skin.  It  may  be  due  to  lowered  nutrition  of  the  skin  caused 
by  impairment  of  its  nervous  power.  It  may  eventually  produce 
thickening  and  other  alterations  of  the  skin.  It  is  often  symp- 
tomatic of  disease  of  the  stomach,  bowel,  or  of  the  spinal  cord. 

GLOSSY   SKIN. 

In  some  cases  of  obstinate  neuralgia,  injury  to  nerve-trunks, 
and  disease  of  the  spinal  cord,  the  skin  assumes  an  appearance 


288  HEALTH   AND   BEAUTY. 

to  which  the  name  of  "glossy  skin"  has  been  aptly  applied 
by  Dr.  S.  Weir  Mitchell,  of  Philadelphia.  It  is  smooth,  shiny, 
pinkish  or  reddish,  and  is  the  seat  of  more  or  less  burning  pain. 
The  condition  occurs  most  frequently  upon  the  extremities  of 
the  body.  Hair  and  nails  on  the  affected  surface  are  lost,  and  the 
skin  is  liable  to  become  rough  or  cracked. 

DIFFUSE  INFLAMMATION   OF  THE  SKIN   WITH    BLISTERS. 

A  peculiar,  not  very  common,  disease  has  been  observed  of 
late  years,  characterized  by  large  and  small  blisters  and  white 
pimples  seated  upon  an  area  of  redness.  The  affection  often 
becomes  chronic  and  exhibits  marked  tendency  to  relapse.  The 
eruption  is  attended  by  intense  itching,  and  the  resultant  scratch- 
ing often  results  in  raw  spots  and  crusts.  It  is  most  frequently 
found  upon  the  upper  or  lower  limbs,  and  particularly  tends 
to  develop  in  the  bend  of  the  elbow  and  of  the  knee.  It  causes 
pain  as  well  as  itching.  It  depends  upon  a  disturbed  condition  of 
the  nervous  system.  It  is  often  preceded  by  depression  of  spirits, 
grief,  or  anxiety.  Professor  Duhring  tells  of  a  case  where  it 
supervened  in  a  healthy,  strong  man  who,  while  gunning,  got 
bogged,  sank  to  his  armpits  in  the  mud,  thought  he  was  lost,  and 
managed  to  extricate  himself  at  last,  exhausted,  by  getting  hold 
of  a  tussock  of  grass. 

DRY  TETTER  OR   PSORIASIS. 

Psoriasis  is  an  obstinate  disease  of  the  skin  which  forms 
dry,  whitish  scales.  The  scales  are  very  abundant,  and  in  cases 
of  long  standing  are  shed  in  great  numbers.  The  eruption  may 
attack  any  part  of  the  body,  but  it  displays  some  preference  for 
the  knees  and  elbows.  It  excites  more  or  less  itching,  especially 
at  the  beginning  of  or  upon  the  development  of  new  spots.  It 
generally  attacks  during  adolescence.  Not  infrequently  it  is 
hereditary.  Its  course  has  been  known  in  certain  cases  to  have 
been  emotional.  A  number  of  caSes  have  been  produced  by 
fright. 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.  289 

HAEMORRHAGE   INTO   THE   SKIN,    OR    PURPURA. 

In  certain  conditions  of  the  nervous  system  and  of  the 
blood,  haemorrhage  occurs  in  the  substance  of  the  skin,  as  it 
sometimes  does  from  mucous  membranes,  as  from  the  nose, 
mouth,  and  other  parts.  Like  the  preceding  maladies  mentioned, 
it  may  suddenly  supervene  after  an  emotional  shock,  and  a  ten- 
dency to  the  disease  may  be  inherited. 

DROPSY   OF   THE   SKIN. 

This  affection  is  characterized  by  the  sudden  appearance  of 
isolated  swellings  beneath  some  part  of  the  skin  or  of  the  mucous 
membrane.  The  skin  itself  covering  these  swellings  becomes 
rose-colored  or  bright  red.  The  swellings  may  vary  from  the 
width  of  a  silver  dollar  to  that  of  the  palm  of  the  hand.  Some- 
times they  give  rise  to  the  sensation  of  tension,  but  they  do  not 
itch  or  pain.  They  develop  rapidly,  continue  for  a  variable 
time,  and  when  they  go,  disappear  as  quickly  as  they  came.  This 
abrupt  advent  and  departure  are  indicative  of  causative  nervous 
influence. 

A  special  form  of  cutaneous  dropsy  is  that  to  which  the 
late  Professor  Charcot  gave  the  name  "blue  dropsy  of  hysterical 
subjects."  As  indicated  by  its  name,  this  kind  of  dropsy  of  the 
skin  evidences  hysterical  condition  as  causative.  The  skin  in 
these  cases  is  harder  than  is  usual  in  the  others,  and  the  surface 
pits  but  little,  if  at  all,  upon  pressure  with  the  tip  of  the  finger. 
The  skin  generally  exhibits  a  violet  tinge,  though  the  color  is 
sometimes  decidedly  red.  In  some  cases,  however,  the  skin 
retains  its  usual  color.  The  temperature  of  the  surface  is,  as  a 
general  rule,  reduced,  and  the  sufferer  experiences  the  sensation 
of  numbness  or  of  actual  pain.  The  disease  is  one  which  does 
not  readily  disappear,  although  it  shows  abrupt  modifications 
\mder  emotional  influence. 


HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 
HARDENING  OF  THE  SKIN. 

A  disease,  happily  rare,  exists,  in  which  areas  or  spots  on 
the  skin  become  hard,  stiff,  and  cold.  The  affected  surface  is, 
in  most  cases,  of  a  pale  white  or  of  a  waxen  hue,  but  is  some- 
times of  a  brownish-red  color.  If  the  extremities  are  involved, 
the  limb  attacked  appears  shortened,  with  distorted  joints. 
When  the  face  is  the  seat  of  the  disease,  the  features  are  drawn 
out  of  place,  are  immovable  and  expressionless.  The  skin,  at 
first  swollen,  has  become  attached  to  the  deeper  structures,  even 
to  bones  when  these  do  not  happen  to  be  covered  with  thick 
layers  of  muscles.  In  later  stages  of  the  disease,  ulceration  may 
occur.  It  is  a  very  stubborn  disease  and  may  prove  fatal.  It 
may  occur  at  any  period  of  life,  although  it  is  most  frequent  in 
middle-age.  It  is  more  common  in  the  female  than  in  the  male 
sex.  This  strange  malady  is  intimately  connected  with  the  con- 
dition of  the  nervous  system,  as  shown  by  its  following  severe 
and  prolonged  mental  strain,  violent  emotion,  mental  shock; 
and  it  may  be  associated  with  disease  in  some  other  part  of  the 
nervous  system. 

FISH-SKIN    DISEASE. 

This  is  an  affection  characterized  by  the  formation  on  the 
skin  of  scales  which  may  overlap  one  another  like  those  of  a 
fish.  The  scales  may  vary  in  color  from  white  to  a  dingy  gray, 
to  brownish,  or  even  to  black.  It  generally  attacks  the  extremi- 
ties, although  the  face  may  be  involved,  sometimes  only  the  lips. 
Cases  vary  extremely  in  severity.  In  some  cases  only  a  small 
area  is  involved,  and  the  scales  are  not  very  large.  In  others, 
a  great  part  of  the  body  is  covered  with  huge,  dirty  scales.  Per- 
sons suffering  from  the  disease  have  been  exhibited  in  museums 
as  "alligator  boys."  The  skin  is  always  dry,  wrinkled,  and  sen- 
sitive to  atmospheric  changes.  In  winter  it  is  liable  to  crack.  It 
generally  occurs  in  early  life,  is  sometimes  present  at  birth,  and 
has  a  tendency  to  run  in  families.  It  may  occur  in  connection 
with  derangement  of  the  nervous  system. 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.          29! 
WHITE  SPOTS. 

Colorless  patches  sometimes  appear  upon  the  skin  in  con- 
sequence of  violent  emotion  or  of  mental  shock.  They  may  be 
associated  with  nervous  disorders,  as  neuralgia,  epilepsy,  and 
insanity. 

GANGRENE. 

The  death  of  certain  areas  of  the  skin  sometimes  happens 
upon  total  cessation  of  capillary  circulation;  its  failure  being 
occasioned  by  disease  involving  the  nerve-fibers  which  preside 
over  the  action  of  the  capillary  blood-vessels.  There  is  a  ner- 
vous malady  which  produces  symmetrical  gangrene  of  outlying 
parts;  as,  for  instance,  that  of  the  fingers  and  hands,  the  toes 
and  the  feet. 

SCROFULA. 

Scrofula  is  a  constitutional  disease.  It  can,  therefore,  be 
combated  only  by  means  of  hygienic  and  medicinal  treatment 
which  promotes  general  nutrition  of  the  body.  Inflammation  and 
breaking  down  of  lymphatic  glands  and  extensive  ulceration  of 
the  skin  are  only  some  of  the  concomitants  of  the  disease.  Tet- 
ter, pimples,  redness  of  the  skin  in  scrofulous  children  are  less 
amenable  to  treatment  than  when  children  are  free  from  under- 
lying taint  of  scrofula.  Sore  eyes  and  diseases  of  bones  and 
joints  are  frequent  manifestations  of  scrofula. 

There  are  several  remedies  which  are  very  efficacious  in 
scrofula.  One  of  these  is  codliver-oil,  given  to  adults  in  a  dose 
of  one  or  two  teaspoonfuls,  and  to  children  in  amounts  suitable 
to  their  ages.  With  infants  and  young  children  it  can  be  ad- 
ministered by  rubbing  it  into  the  skin  of  the  armpits,  the  breast, 
and  other  parts  of  the  body  where  the  skin  is  thin.  It  contains 
sulphur,  iodine,  bromine,  phosphorus,  fat,  and  other  substances. 
The  absorption  of  this  oil  into  the  tissues  is  easily  effected  on 
account  of  the  character  of  its  composition.  However  taken, 
it  is  a  food  as  well  as  a  medicine.  Many  children  learn  to  like 


HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

its  taste.  A  few  years  ago  a  gentleman  was  met  who,  for 
twelve  years,  had  taken  codliver-oil  to  suppress  broken-down 
glands  of  the  neck  and  ulcers  of  the  skin.  The  taste  of  it  was 
not  at  all  obnoxious  to  him,  and  he  had  gained  in  flesh,  weight, 
and  appearance.  The  taking  of  the  oil,  however,  was  only  part 
of  his  treatment. 

The  scrofulous  are  exceedingly  predisposed  to  catarrhal 
attacks  of  the  mucous  membrane  lining  the  nasal  and  bronchial 
passages,  and  the  use  of  codliver-oil  has  a  tendency  to  prevent 
these  attacks.  If  a  patient  should  revolt  at  the  taste  of  the  oil, 
it  can  be  made  into  what  is  called  an  emulsion  for  his  particular 
use.  A  palatable  emulsion  can  be  made  as  follows : — 

Codliver-oil   4  ounces. 

Oil  of  wintergreen 20  drops. 

Syrup  of  wild-cherry     4  ounces. 

Extract  of  malt ' 4  ounces. 

Another  great  remedy  is  syrup  of  the  iodide  of  iron.  That 
is  because  iodine  is  of  great  efficacy  in  scrofula,  and  iron  in 
combination  with  it  increases  its  value.  The  dose  for  an  adult  is 
from  ten  drops  to  a  teaspoonful.  For  a  child  of  ten  years  of  age, 
from  a  third  to  a  half  of  that  quantity  can  be  given. 

Chlorate  of  potassium  is  an  excellent  medicine  in  case  of 
scrofula.  If  it  be  prescribed  before  the  glands  have  broken 
down,  it  causes  their  swelling  to  diminish  and  redness  of  the 
skin  to  vanish.  It  promotes  the  general  nutrition  of  the  body, 
improves  the  quality  of  the  blood,  and  checks  the  formation  of 
matter.  If  matter  has  already  formed,  it  limits  its  production, 
and  its  thin,  unhealthy  character  disappears.  It  is  best  to  begin 
with  a  dose  of  from  a  half  to  one  grain,  given  in  water  before 
every  meal,  increasing  the  quantity  gradually  until  the  patient 
shows  improvement. 

Scrofulous  patients  need  fresh  air,  sunlight,  exercise,  and 
nutritious  food. 

External  treatment  in  scrofula  should  be  undertaken  at  an 
early  stage  of  the  disease,  in  order  to  check  inflammation,  and 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.          293 

to  prevent  or  to  limit  suppuration,  the  consequence  of  which 
would  be  a  disfiguring  scar.  Gentle  compression  of  the  swollen 
glands  will  often  cause  them  to  subside.  This  may  be  effected  by 
painting  the  surface  every  day  with  flexible  collodion  put  on 
with  a  camel's-hair  brush.  The  efficacy  of  this  treatment  is 
increased  by  saturating  the  collodion  with  iodoform.  Another 
excellent  preparation  is  a  solution  of  iodoform  in  oleic  acid, 
to  be  painted  over  the  affected  parts  two  or  three  times  a  day. 

When  matter  has  formed  within  the  gland,  the  case  de- 
mands surgical  interference.  The  matter  should  be  evacuated  at 
the  earliest  possible  moment.  When  the  glands  are  completely 
degenerated,  and  the  overlying  skin  is  of  a  dull,  unhealthy  color, 
the  surgeon  not  only  liberates  the  matter,  but  treats  the  infil- 
trated part  by  special  means,  without  which  its  circulation  and 
health  cannot  be  restored.  By  the  means  which  the  surgeon 
adopts  the  scar  is  much  less  extensive  and  disfiguring  than  when 
the  aid  of  surgery  is  avoided.  Moreover,  healing  is  much  more 
rapid  by  recourse  to  surgery  than  by  relying  upon  medicinal 
action  alone.  Medication  is  called  in  at  the  same  time  with  sur- 
gery, to  play  th?  secondary  part  in  importance  in  such  a  case  as 
that  referred  to. 

LIVER-SPOTS;  YELLOW  SPOTS;  BLOTCHES. 
A  certain  blemish,  which  is  sometimes  the  result  of  anaemia, 
may  be  either  on  the  face  or  on  the  body.  It  may  be  produced 
by  a  number  of  causes.  The  affection  is  called  by  medical  men 
chloasma,  and  is  popularly  known  as  "liver-spot."  Patches  of 
chloasma  are  round  or  irregular  in  form,  vary  in  color  from 
light  or  dark  yellow  to  brown  or  even  black,  and  are  smooth 
to  the  touch.  The  patches  are  more  conspicuous  in  persons 
whose  complexion  is  dark  than  they  are  in  others.  Occasion- 
ally they  extend  across  the  forehead  from  one  temple  to  the 
other.  The  skin  may  seem  to  be  unaffected  save  for  its  change 
of  color,  but  sometimes  it  is  covered  with  a  greasy  secretion. 
Liver-spots,  when  once  formed,  spread  very  slowly,  or  else  do 


294  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

not  increase  at  all  in  size.  The  affection  is  more  common  in 
women  than  in  men.  Besides  being  sometimes  produced  by 
anaemia,  it  may  be  caused  by  derangement  of  internal  organs. 
It  may  also  be  caused  by  local  irritation,  as  by  the  pressure  of 
a  hat,  by  heat  or  cold,  or  by  other  diseases  of  the  skin. 

As  liver-spots  generally  originate  from  some  disordered 
condition  of  organs  of  the  body,  it  is  best  to  call  in  the  advice 
of  a  physician  for  their  treatment.  The*  following  lotions  may 
be  used  upon  the  spots  and  prove  of  assistance  to  the  internal 
treatment  by  a  physician: — 

Corrosive  sublimate    .  . » 10  grains. 

Alcohol    1  ounce. 

Distilled  witch-hazel 3  ounces. 

Mix. 

Boric  acid   2  drachms. 

Distilled  witch-hazel  2  ounces. 

Cologne    2  ounces. 

Mix. 

Observe  that  the  first  lotion  has  in  it  corrosive  sublimate. 
Corrosive  sublimate  is  a  powerful  poison.  It  should  always  be 
kept  where  it  is  inaccessible  to  children.  All  poisons  should  be 
marked  "Poison,  for  external  use  only." 

YELLOW  BLOTCHES,  OR  TINEA  VERSICOLOR. 

An  affection  of  the  skin  which  bears  some  resemblance  to 
cholasma  is  medically  known  as  tinea  versicolor,  or  pityriasis 
versicolor.  It  is  a  parasitic  disease,  caused  by  the  growth  upon 
the  horny  layer  of  the  skin  of  a  fungous  micro-organism.  There 
is  one  marked  difference  in  respect  to  the  regions  of  the  body 
which  these  two  diseases  respectively  attack.  Liver-spots  fre- 
quently, if  not  generally,  occur  upon  the  face,  but  tinea  versi- 
color begins  in  the  form  of  small,  roundish  or  oval  spots  of  a  red- 
dish or  yellow  color  upon  the  body.  They  may  become  darker, 
but  they  do  not  generally  deepen  in  shade  beyond  fawn-color. 
They  may  be  few  in  number  or  very  abundant,  and  neighboring 
patches  are  covered  with  fine,  mealy  scales  and  generally  itch. 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT. 

Although  scarcely  ever  appearing  upon  the  face,  tinea  versicolor 
is  common  upon  the  chest,  back,  arms,  and  shoulders. 

It  is  advantageous  to  rub  the  patches,  night  and  morning, 
with  a  fleshbrush.  Small  patches  may  be  made  to  disappear  by 
painting  them  with  the  tincture  of  iodine.  It  is  well  to  begin- by 
touching  them,  night  and  morning,  with  a  solution  of  three 
drachms  of  powdered  borax  to  five  ounces  of  distilled  witch- 
hazel.  After  this  has  been  used  for  a  few  days,  and  the  scales 
thereby  removed,  the  most  effective  application  is  an  ointment 
containing  from  forty  to  eighty  grains  of  oleate  of  copper  to  an 
ounce  of  lard.  The  patches  should  be  cleansed  with  the  lotion 
mentioned,  and  not  with  water,  for  the  reason  that  water  favors 
the  growth  of  the  parasite. 

OILY  SKIN;    SCURF;    DANDRUFF. 

A  very  common  disease  of  the  skin,  and  one  that  sadly 
mars  comeliness,  is  called  seborrhcea,  and  it  is,  unfortunately, 
more  common  among  women  than  among  men.  The  sebaceous 
glands  are  so  affected  in  this  disease  that  instead  of  furnishing 
only  enough  oily  matter  to  lubricate  it,  they  discharge  an  im- 
mense amount,  which  is,  at  the  same  time,  altered  in  quality. 
The  oily  matter,  superfluous  in  quantity  and  poor  in  quality, 
makes  an  unsightly  deposit  upon  the  surface  of  the  skin.  The 
disease  is  especially  prone  to  occur  upon  parts  of  the  body  ex- 
posed to  observation:  the  face,  scalp,  chest,  and  back.  It  may 
be  so  slight  as  not  to  occasion  much  annoyance,  and  may  dis- 
appear with  the  cause.  It  tends,  however,  to  be  chronic,  and 
may  last  for  months  or  years.  The  products  of  the  affection 
differ,  are  sometimes  an  oily  fluid,  sometimes  consist  of  dry  or 
greasy  scales,  the  latter  the  commonest  form.  The  forehead, 
cheeks,  and  nose  are  the  favorite  points  for  attack.  The  scales 
are  of  a  yellowish,  greenish,  brownish,  or  blackish  color,  closely 
adherent  to  the  skin.  Itching  and  burning  sensations  are  often 
present.  In  the  oily  variety  the  skin  has  a  greasy  appearance 
and  may  be  either  pale  or  red  in  color. 


296  HEALTH   AND   BEAUTY. 

Seborrhcea  is  most  common  between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and 
thirty.  It  is  caused  by  an  impoverished  condition  of  the  blood, 
and  by  any  disease  of  the  skin  or  of  the  internal  organs  which 
affects  the  general  health.  Exposure  to  heat  or  cold  may  give 
rise  to  it.  As  the  disease  is  evidence  of  lowered  vitality,  it  is 
of  importance  to  look  to  the  general  health.  Fresh  air,  sunlight, 
and  exercise  are  indispensable.  The  medicines  taken  should 
be  such  as  improve  appetite,  digestion,  and  secretion.  In  the 
oily  form  of  the  disease,  the  use  of  a  dry  and  slightly  astringent 
powder  is  useful,  because  it  absorbs  the  superabundant  discharge, 
and  at  the  same  time  improves  the  tone  of  the  skin.  From  time 
to  time,  too,  the  skin  may  be  sponged  with  a  mildly  stimulative 
lotion.  A  good  wash  consists  of: — 

Boric  acid  2  drachms. 

Orange  flower-water  2  ounces. 

Rose-water    2  ounces. 

Mix. 

An  absorbent  powder  which  will  prove  useful  contains : — 

Oleate  of  zinc 2  drachms. 

Powdered  arrow-root   %  ounce. 

Mix. 

Another  good  powder  is  thus  composed : — 

Salicylic  acid  2  drachms. 

Subnitrate  of  bismuth 1  ounce. 

Powdered  oleate  of  zinc 3  drachms. 

Mix. 

When  the  disease  is  of  the  dry  variety,  the  first  object 
should  be  to  get  rid  of  the  scales  which  prevent  the  lotions  from 
coming  in  contact  with  the  affected  surface.  The  best  method 
for  this  is  by  the  application  of  olive-  or  almond-oil,  or  best  of 
all,  by  the  application  of  the  oil  of  ergot,  which  is  astringent 
and  slightly  stimulant.  In  some  cases  no  further  treatment 
will  be  needed  than  cleansing  with  soap  and  water.  A  soap 
which  contains  chamomile  and  sulphur  is  very  beneficial.  Boro- 
glyceride  is  also  of  service.  If  the  skin  is  much  inflamed,  the 
oxide  of  zinc  may  be  used  with  good  effect.  The  following  is 
a  good  ointment: — 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.  297 

Salicylic  acid   30  grains. 

Borax     15  grains. 

Peruvian  balsam   25  minims. 

Oil  of  bergamot   20  minims. 

Oil  of  anise 6  minims. 

Cold  cream  1  ounce. 

When,  as  is  often  the  case,  dry  seborrhcea  attacks  the  scalp, 
it  will,  unless  checked  by  treatment,  lead  to  baldness.  It  is,  in 
fact,  one  of  the  most  frequent  causes  of  premature  loss  of  hair. 
The  treatment  is  virtually  the  same  as  that  for  seborrhcea  on  the 
face.  It  is  convenient  to  annoint  the  scales  upon  retiring  to  rest, 
using  an  oil-skin  cap.  From  twelve  to  twenty-four  hours  are 
generally  sufficient  to  detach  the  scales.  If,  upon  the  exposure 
of  the  underlying  surface,  its  hue  is  of  unusual  paleness,  more 
or  less  stimulating  treatment  is  needed,  whereas,  if  it  shows  the 
red  of  inflammation,  bland  lotions  only  should  be  applied  to  it. 
It  is  prudent  to  begin  with  mild  remedies.  A  solution  of  table- 
salt,  of  the  strength  of  one-fourth  to  three-fourths  of  a  pound 
to  the  pint  of  water,  is  cheap,  convenient,  and  will  often  prove 
effective.  The  carbonate  of  potash,  five  to  fifteen  grains  to  the 
ounce  of  water,  may  give  good  results.  Sometimes  equal  parts 
of  glycerine  and  water  are  beneficial.  In  those  cases  where  de- 
cided stimulation  is  demanded,  alcohol,  and  preparations  into 
which  it  enters,  as  the  various  spirits,  ether,  the  essential  oils, 
etc.,  are  frequently  of  advantage. 

The  nutrition  of  the  scalp  is  promoted  by  massage,  hot 
alternating  with  cold  douches  of  water,  by  shampooing  with 
either  hard  or  soft  soap,  and  above  all,  by  the  use  of  electricity 
from  the  galvanic  current. 

The  persistence,  and  especially  the  increase,  of  dandruff 
should  always  excite  attention.  Treatment  for  threatening  bald- 
ness should  begin  early,  be  carried  on  persistently,  and  in  many, 
perhaps  in  most  cases,  it  will  be  rewarded  by  success.  Baldness, 
as  a  result  of  seborrhcea,  is  noticed  here,  on  account  of  its  close 
connection  with  seborrh&a  on  the  face. 


298  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

RED  AND    WHITE   PIMPLES. 

A  disease  which  is  of  very  frequent  occurrence  among 
young  people  is  acne.  It  attacks  not  only  the  face,  but  the  neck, 
bosom,  and  back.  It  consists  of  an  eruption  of  pimples  of  various 
sizes.  They  may  be  as  small  as  a  pinhead  or  as  large  as  a  bean. 
They  appear  particularly  upon  the  forehead,  cheeks,  and  chin. 
Sometimes  they  are  few  in  number  and  stand  well  apart ;  but,  at 
other  times,  they  are  closely  clustered.  They  may  be  hard  and  of 
a  dark  red  color,  or  they  may  be  full  of  matter,  in  which  case 
they  are  white.  Different  stages  of  the  eruption  can  generally 
be  found  upon  the  face  at  the  same  time.  After  middle-age, 
the  disease  usually  disappears.  In  the  case  of  large,  broken-down 
pimples,  filled  with  matter,  indelible  scars  may  be  produced  by 
them. 

Many  disordered  conditions  of  the  system  produce  acne: 
chronic  dyspepsia,  rapid  physiological  changes  that  take  place  in 
youth,  trouble  of  mind,  local  irritation  from  uncleanliness,  the 
use  of  powders,  paints,  and  various  cosmetics.  In  some  per- 
sons the  use  of  certain  articles  of  food  is  sufficient  to  cause  a 
fresh  outbreak.  The  affection  occurs  more  frequently  in  blondes 
than  in  brunettes.  It  attacks  both  sexes  and  persons  in  every 
station  in  life.  Being  of  constitutional  origin,  it  requires  all 
the  skill  of  the  physician  to  trace  it  to  its  remote  cause.  It 
would  not  be  justifiable  to  give  minute  directions  in  a  work  of 
this  class  for  treatment  which,  on  account  of  the  disease  being 
constitutional,  needs  a  physician  to  prescribe  for  the  individual 
case. 

BLACKHEADS. 

Blackheads  are  a  very  common  blemish  on  the  face.  They 
mostly  occur  upon  the  chin  and  nose,  and  vary  exceedingly  in 
number.  The  medical  name  of  the  affection  is  comedo,  and 
the  blackheads  themselves  are  called  comedones.  They  are 
caused  by  a  diseased  condition  of  the  sebaceous  glands.  The  lit- 
tle channels  by  which  the  oily  sebum  of  the  skin  reaches  the  sur- 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.          299 

face  becomes  plugged  up  with  that  substance,  and  the  comedones 
end  on  a  level  with  the  surface,  becoming  blackened  by  dirt. 
Sometimes  blackheads  are  in  such  great  clusters  as  to  form  dis- 
tinct bands  upon  the  forehead  or  distinctly  blacken  the  sides 
and  tip  of  the  nose. 

Although  blackheads  themselves  are,  relatively  speaking,  a 
trivial  affection,  and  denote  nothing  more  than  a  local  disorder 
of  the  skin,  yet  the  distended  condition  of  the  oil-ducts  proves 
enfeebled  health.  A  physician  often  finds  that  the  skin  affection 
depends  upon  disorder  of  some  internal  organ.  If  the  black- 
heads are  associated  with  some  derangement  of  the  general 
health,  that  condition  must  necessarily  be  corrected.  The  points 
should  not  be  roughly  treated  by  squeezing  or  other  exacerba- 
tion. Washing  twice  daily  with  soap  and  water,  followed  by 
friction  with  a  rough  towel,  is  beneficial.  The  soap  should  be 
bland,  either  plain  or  medicated  with  chamomile,  salicylic  acid, 
or  some  other  detergent  substances.  An  ointment  containing  the 
same  ingredients  may  be  used  with  advantage. 

The  following  preparations  are  useful : — 

Thymol 10  grains. 

.boric  acid  2  drachms. 

Distilled  water  of  witch-hazel 4  ounces. 

Rose-water    1  ounce. 

Mix.     Sponge  over  the  surface  once  or  twice  a  day. 

Salicylic  acid 30  grains. 

Balsam  of    Peru 2  drachms. 

Lard 6  drachms. 

Mix.     Spread  upon  the  affected  part  every  night. 

Carbonate  of  ammonia 1  drachm. 

Simple  cerate  • 1  ounce. 

Mix.    Apply  at  bedtime. 

RED  NOSE  AND  CHEEKS. 

This  is  another  affection  of  the  face.  It  is  much  more  com- 
mon in  men  than  in  women.  It  is  most  frequently  produced  by 
too  great  indulgence  in  eating.  The  disease  is,  in  medical  lan- 
guage, known  as  rosacea.  Its  usual  site  is  on  the  nose,  but  it 
may  attack  other  parts  of  the  face.  It  has  great  tendency  to 


3OO  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

become  chronic,  and,  if  it  completes  its  full  course,  is  divided  into 
three  stages.  Even  in  its  mildest  form  it  constitutes  a  serious 
blemish,  while  in  its  last  stages,  happily  rare,  it  becomes  a  re- 
pulsive deformity. 

In  the  beginning  the  affected  part — the  tip  of  the  nose,  for 
example — is  simply  red.  The  redness  disappears  under  pres- 
sure, but  returns  at  once  when  the  pressure  is  removed.  This 
redness  is  caused  by  the  engorgement  of  the  blood-vessels  of  the 
part.  In  this  condition  the  sebaceous  glands  are  generally  stim- 
ulated to  excessive  activity,  and  the  consequence  is  that  the  nose, 
in  addition  to  being  red,  has  an  oily  appearance.  If  the  second 
stage  be  reached,  the  blood-vessels  become  so  gorged  that  they 
stand  out  as  red  lines.  The  engorgement  is  so  great  that  the 
blood-vessels  assume  a  twisted  look.  In  the  third  and  last  stage, 
which,  as  previously  remarked  is  rare,  the  whole  nose  is  dense, 
enlarged,  and  knobby.  This  is  the  condition  described  by 
Shakespeare  when  he  makes  Fluellen  say  of  Bardolph,  "His  face 
is  all  bubuckles  and  welks  and  knobs  and  flames  of  fire,  and  his 
lip  ploughs  at  his  nose,  and  it  is  like  a  coal  of  fire,  sometimes 
blue  and  sometimes  red." 

Rosacea  may  be  produced  by  anaemia,  chronic  disorders  of 
the  stomach  or  liver,  by  a  rheumatic  or  gouty  constitution,  or  by 
the  use  of  cosmetics,  paints,  and  irritating  lotions.  In  some 
cases  it  follows  acne. 

Constitutional  treatment  should  be  undertaken  under  a 
physician's  care.  Rich  food  should  be  avoided.  For  outward 
application  the  ointment  of  the  oleate  of  bismuth  applied  thrice 
daily  is  good.  When  the  nose  is  oily,  a  dusting  powder  is  pre- 
ferable to  the  ointment.  It  may  be  the  powdered  oleate  of  zinc, 
or  the  subnitrate  of  bismuth,  or  equal  parts  of  each.  Powdered 
starch  with  arrowroot,  dusted  over  the  ointment,  will  disguise 
its  greasiness  and  assist  its  action.  The  following  ointment  is 
a  good  one: — 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.  3OI 

Carbonate  of  zinc 1  drachm. 

Powdered  arrow-root   1  drachm. 

. \mmoniated  mercury 10  grains. 

Simple  ointment 1  ounce. 

Mix. 

Or  a  soothing  lotion  may  be  employed,  of: — 

Acetate  of  lead   10  grains. 

Acetate  of  zinc    10  grains. 

Rose-water    4  ounces. 

Mix. 

Other  combinations  which  are  of  service  in  this  affection 
are: — 

Hydrochlorate  of  hydrastine 1  grain. 

Distilled   witch-hazel   water 6  drachms. 

Rose-water    2  ounces. 

Mix. 

Tannic   acid    10  grains. 

Sublimed  sulphur %  drachm. 

Carbonate  of  zinc   1  drachm. 

Lard     1  ounce. 

Mix. 

For  the  second  stage  of  the  disease,  the  extract  and  the  tinc- 
ture of  witch-hazel  externally  in  the  form  of  a  lotion  or  an  oint- 
ment are  efficacious  for  reducing  the  caliber  and  the  twisted  con- 
dition of  the  engorged  blood-vessels.  A  method  which  is  often 
of  service  consists  in  brushing  collodion  along  the  course  of  the 
enlarged  blood-vessels.  The  vapor-bath  is  valuable  for  both  the 
first  and  second  stages  of  the  disease. 

The  electricity  of  the  galvanic  battery  is  very  useful  in 
rosacea. 

TETTER ;     SALT-RHEUM  ;     MILK-CRUST. 

The  most  common  disease  of  the  skin  is  eczema,  which,  in 
popular  language,  is  often  called  "tetter,"  "moist  tetter,"  or  "salt- 
rheum."  Eczema  is  rather  more  prevalent  in  the  male  than  in 
the  female  sex,  but  it  may  attack  either  at  any  age.  It  not  in- 
frequently appears  upon  the  face  and  neck.  This  disease  includes 
about  one-third  of  the  sufferers  from  all  diseases  of  the  skin. 
It  is  not  always  easy  to  identify,  because  it  assumes  great  diver- 


3<D2  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

sity  of  forms.  Even  the  same  case  of  it  may  present  various 
phases.  In  some  cases  it  begins  with  a  simple  redness  of  the 
surface,  which  subsequently  becomes  moist,  and  finally  dry  and 
thickened.  In  other  cases  it  manifests  itself  in  the  form  of 
little  pimples,  pustules,  or  water-blisters,  seated  upon  a  red- 
dened surface  and  accompanied  by  heat,  swelling,  smarting,  burn- 
ing, or  itching.  Often  the  blisters  become  ruptured  and  their 
contents,  escaping,  dry  upon  the  surface  and  form  crusts.  Itching 
is  a  very  constant  symptom,  varying  in  intensity  from  slight 
annoyance  to  intolerable  distress. 

Eczema  may  be  either  acute  or  chronic.  In  the  former  con- 
dition its  action  is  violent  and  rapid.  The  heat  and  swelling  are 
conspicuous,  and  there  is  usually  a  good  deal  of  discharge  from 
the  rupture  of  the  water-blisters — "weeping,"  it  is  very  graph- 
ically called.  In  some  cases  the  scarf-skin  is  destroyed  and  the 
raw  and  red  true  skin  is  exposed.  Such  an  attack  usually  sub- 
sides within  a  week,  but  it  leaves  a  tendency  to  succeeding  out- 
breaks. It  may  pass  almost  imperceptibly  into  the  chronic  form 
of  the  disorder. 

The  manifestations  of  chronic  eczema  are  like  those  of  the 
acute  kind,  but  less  severe.  In  addition,  the  skin  gradually  be- 
comes thickened  and  often  cracked.  The  itching  is  generally 
great.  Eczema  of  the  face  exhibits  the  characteristics  of  the 
disease  as  just  described.  It  may,  besides,  excite  inflammation 
of  the  mucous  membrane  covering  the  eyeball  and  cause  the  eye 
to  be  bloodshot.  The  general  surface  becomes  disfigured  and 
the  ravages  of  the  disease  may  be  aggravated  by  scratching.  The 
disease  is  subject  to  a  relapse  from  the  slightest  cause.  If  the 
eruption  confines  itself  to  the  nose,  it  may,  in  time,  excite 
rosacea. 

Persons  of  light  complexion  and  hair  are  more  liable  to 
have  eczema  than  those  of  a  temperament  indicated  by  oppo- 
site attributes.  It  is  usually  an  hereditary  affection,  depending 
upon  some  constitutional  cause.  Gouty  and  rheumatic  subjects 
are  more  liable  than  others  to  its  attacks.  It  may  be  caused 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.  303 

by  disease  of  the  lungs,  heart,  blood-vessels,  liver,  kidneys,  and 
by  diabetes  mellitus.  Dyspepsia  is  a  common  cause  of  the  dis- 
ease. It  may  also  be  brought  about  by  derangement  of  the  ner- 
vous system.  Sometimes  it  alternates  with  attacks  of  asthma 
or  bronchitis.  Among  local  causes  may  be  mentioned  atmos- 
pheric changes,  contact  of  chemical  irritants,  as  in  poisonously- 
dyed  drygoods,  etc. 

The  treatment  of  eczema,  must  be  addressed  both  to  the 
system  and  to  the  part  affected.  It  is  essential  that  the  exciting 
cause  of  the  disease  be  removed,  and  therefore  careful  medical 
investigation  is  indispensable.  According  to  circumstances,  al- 
terative and  tonic  medicines  are  demanded.  Rheumatic  or  gouty 
conditions  may  be  the  underlying  fact  of  the  eruption.  Diet  and 
thorough  hygienic  practice  must  be  observed.  Plethoric  persons 
and  dyspeptic  ones  need  different  diet;  the  former  a  restrained 
one;  the  latter  the  fullest.  Certain  foods  and  drinks,  however, 
should  be  avoided  by  all  patients.  Among  these  may  be  men- 
tioned strong  coffee  or  tea,  alcoholic  fluids,  pork,  cheese,  and 
shell-fish.  Rest,  sleep,  bathing,  suitable  clothing,  good  air,  ven- 
tilation, sunshine,  regular  exercise,  will  be  of  the  greatest  assist- 
ance in  the  treatment  of  the  disease. 

Appropriate  local  applications  are  of  material  assistance. 
The  remedies,  however,  which  are  suitable  at  one  stage  of  the 
disease  may  be  injurious  at  another.  Acute  eczema  is  usually 
best  treated  by  bland  applications,  while  the  chronic  variety  gen- 
erally requires  stimulation.  If  crusts  are  present,  they  may  be 
removed  by  saturating  the  surface  with  an  oily  preparation.  It 
is  prudent  to  begin  with  a  mild  remedy  or  remedies  upon  a  re- 
stricted surface,  and  if  the  application  proves  beneficial  it  can  be 
extended  over  a  larger  one,  and,  if  desirable,  gradually  made 
stronger.  Starch-water  or  an  infusion  of  chamomile  often  serves 
well  in  acute  eczema.  Equal  parts  of  lime-water,  glycerine,  and 
water  make  a  good  dressing.  A  solution  of  a  drachm  or  two  of 
borax  or  of  bicarbonate  of  soda,  in  a  pint  of  water,  makes  a 
lotion  from  which  good  results  may  be  expected.  A  valuable 
prescription  is  composed  as  follows: — 


304  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

Oxide  of  zinc   4  drachms. 

Spirit  of  camphor • 1  drachm. 

Glycerine     1  ounce. 

Rose-water    2  ounces. 

Lime-water   3  ounces. 

Mix. 

When  the  surface  is  very  red,  moist  and  weeping,  dry 
powders  are  often  more  effective  than  are  liquid  applications. 
Among  those  which  may  be  applied  are  starch,  arrowroot,  rice, 
buckwheat,  lycopodium,  carbonate  of  magnesia,  oxide  of  zinc, 
carbonate  of  zinc,  oleate  of  zinc,  and  subnitrate  of  bismuth.  If 
there  is  much  burning  and  itching,  a  little  camphor,  in  addition, 
will  be  of  service.  The  following  combination  is  beneficial : — 

Powdered  arrow-root   1  ounce. 

Powdered  oleate  of  zinc 2  drachma. 

Powdered  camphor   %  drachm. 

Mix. 

Any  of  the  powders  mentioned  may  be  freely  dusted  upon 
the  inflamed  skin.  It  is  a  good  practice  to  apply  first  a  sooth- 
ing ointment,  which  makes  the  powder  more  adherent  to  the 
skin. 

In  some  cases  ointments  are  more  advantageous  than  pow- 
ders. They  remove  crusts  as  well  as  acting  remedially  upon  the 
inflammation.  Excellent  bland  ointments  are  composed  of  a 
drachm  of  oxide  of  zinc  or  of  carbonate  of  zinc,  oxide  of  bis- 
muth, or  of  subnitrate  of  bismuth,  to  the  ounce  of  lard  or  cold 
cream.  Cucumber-ointment  and  cucumber-cream  are  also  excel- 
lent soothing  applications.  Some  good  formulae  for  ointments 
are: — 

Carbonate  of  zinc   1  drachm. 

Subnitrate  of  bismuth    1  drachm. 

Oil  of  chamomile 10  minims. 

Cold  cream   1  ounce. 

Mix. 

Calomel   10  grains. 

Powdered  starch    1  drachm. 

Powdered  camphor   20  grains. 

Powdered  oxide  of  zinc 1  drachm. 

Benzoated  lard    1  ounce. 

Mix. 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.          305 

Instead  of  ointments,  oils  may  often  be  employed  with 
admirable  effect.  Olive,  linseed,  sweet  almond,  and  palm  oil, 
either  alone  or  in  combination,  can  be  recommended.  Equal 
parts  of  olive-oil  and  lime-water  are  serviceable. 

In  most  cases  of  chronic  eczema,  bathing  affords  much 
relief.  Vapor-baths,  either  plain  or  medicated,  soften  the  skin, 
relieve  the  itching,  and  are  of  great  assistance  to  other  remedies 
employed.  So  is  also  the  judicious  use  of  medicated  soaps.  Tar 
is  one  of  the  best  applications  for  the  chronic  form  of  eczema. 
Instead  of  plain  tar,  the  more  elegant  preparations,  the  oil  of 
cade  and  oil  of  white  birch  are  preferable.  An  ointment  of 
average  strength  may  be  made,  as  follows  :— 

Oil  of  cade 1  drachm. 

Oil  of  verbena   5  minims. 

Benzoated  lard . .  . 1  ounce. 

Mix. 

The  oil  of  white  birch  is  very  acceptably  used  in  the  form 
of  a  lotion  according  to  the  following  formula : — 

Oil  of  white  birch   %  ounce. 

Oil  of  lavender 1  drachm. 

Cologne    6  ounces. 

Mix. 

Itching  may  often  be  alleviated  by  the  use  of  the  compound 
tincture  of  benzoin,  a  solution  of  benzoic  acid  in  cologne,  or 
lotions  containing  camphor,  etc. 

TETTER  IN  THE  INFANT. 

Infants  and  very  young  children  are  very  liable  to  attacks  of 
tetter.  It  is  the  commonest  disease  of  childhood.  On  account  of 
the  delicacy  of  the  skin  at  this  early  age,  tetter  differs  in  children, 
in  some  respects,  from  the  same  disease  among  adults.  Diminu- 
tion in  the  quantity  or  alteration  in  the  quality  of  the  mother's 
milk  may  occasion  tetter  in  an  infant.  Digestive  disturbances 
in  very  young  children  may  also  occasion  an  attack  of  it.  Heat 
and  cold,  insufficient  clothing,  woolen  garments,  or  the  dye  in 

clothes  may  produce  it.     The  services  of  a  physician  are  indis- 

20 


306  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

pensable  at  the  earliest  moment  for  infants  and  very  young 
children.  No  amount  of  medical  knowledge  possessed  by  the  lay- 
man is  sufficient  to  meet  their  rapid  changes.  Their  lives  may 
be  snuffed  out  in  a  few  hours,  or  again,  as  in  Mother  Goose, 
where  the  old  woman  goes  out  to  get  a  coffin  for  her  supposedly 
dead  dog,  you  find  them  up  and  about  and  full  of  life.  But  in- 
asmuch as  they  are  so  susceptible,  the  only  way  for  the  wise 
to  do,  when  children  are  ill,  is  to  get  a  physician,  and  get  him 
quickly. 

REDNESS  OF   THE   SKIN. 

Patches  of  a  rosy-red  color  often  make  their  appearance 
upon  the  skin,  especially  upon  that  of  infants  and  very  young 
children.  They  are  very  liable  also  to  occur  on  the  tender  skin 
of  young  women  of  nervous  temperament.  The  affection  is 
erythema,  which  means  red  or  rose-colored.  The  patches  often 
appear  very  suddenly,  and  may  be  numerous  and  of  any  size  and 
shape.  They  may  stay  but  a  few  hours,  although,  in  some  cases, 
they  remain  for  two  or  three  days.  Red  patches  are  generally 
occasioned  by  deranged  condition  of  the  digestive  system.  Red 
patches  of  similar  appearance  may,  however,  be  caused  by  ex- 
ternal injury,  and  especially  by  the  action  of  heat.  These  differ 
from  the  sort  caused  by  internal  conditions  in  being  limited 
strictly  to  the  place  injured  and  in  being  more  persistent  than 
the  others.  These  may  be  caused  by  the  irritation  from  dyes  and 
from  various  mineral  and  vegetable  substances.  That  form  of 
erythema  which  is  symptomatic  of  disturbance  of  the  stomach 
or  of  the  bowels  disappears  as  soon  as  the  cause  is  removed,  and 
requires  no  further  treatment  than  the  administration  of  a  laxa- 
tive medicine.  The  form  which  depends  upon  external  injury 
is  relieved  by  the  application  of  a  soothing  wash  or  an  ointment. 

BURNS   AND   SCALDS. 

Burns  come  from  dry  heat,  scalds  from  moist  heat.  In  a 
severe  form  of  burn  the  skin  is  actually  destroyed,  and  some- 
times deeper  parts.  In  an  extreme  case  the  destruction  pene- 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.  307 

trates  to  the  muscular  layers  and  even  to  the  bones.  If  life  be  not 
extinguished,  the  dead  tissues  are  cast  off  by  a  process  of  inflam- 
mation which  begins  somewhere  from  the  third  to  the  fifth  day 
after  the  injury  and  continues  for  about  two  weeks.  Deep 
burns  occasion  severe  shock  to  the  nervous  system  and  are  fol- 
lowed by  extreme  prostration.  They  are  very  dangerous  to 
children,  to  aged  persons,  and  to  the  debilitated.  A  burn  that 
involves  a  third  of  the  surface  of  the  body  is  always  fatal. 

In  treatment  the  first  object  should  be  to  relieve  from  the 
shock  and  pain.  Laudanum,  in  a  dose  of  from  ten  to  twenty- 
five  drops,  for  an  adult,  should  be  at  once  administered.  When 
the  pain  is  severe  or  agonizing,  the  dose  must  be  increased,  even 
to  the  extent  of  forty  drops  for  an  adult.  If  laudanum  cannot 
be  had  at  once,  it  is  best  to  give  a  drink  of  hot  ginger-tea  or  a 
hot  whiskey  or  brandy  punch.  The  aromatic  spirits  of  ammonia 
may  be  given  in  such  a  case  in  the  dose  of  one  or  two  teaspoon- 
fuls  well  diluted  with  water. 

After  quickly  but  gently  removing  the  clothing  of  the  suf- 
ferer, he  should  be  placed  upon  the  softest  possible  bed.  Loose 
pieces  of  flesh  are  cut  away  and  the  burnt  parts  covered  with 
olive  oil  and  dusted  with  some  bland  powder  such  as  the  sub- 
nitrate  of  bismuth.  Equal  parts  of  linseed  oil  and  lime-water 
make  a  very  good  dressing.  After  the  oil  has  been  applied  to 
the  burnt  surface,  it  should  be  covered  with  a  layer  of  soft  cot- 
ton lint.  When  large  blisters  form  upon  the  burnt  surface,  they 
should  be  opened  with  a  sharp  knife  or  pair  of  scissors  and  their 
contents  allowed  to  escape.  The  covering  of  the  blisters,  which 
is  the  scarf-skin,  must  not  be  removed,  but  the  blisters  be 
merely  punctured.  After  the  blisters  have  collapsed,  the  sur- 
face should  be  cleansed  with  a  very  weak  solution  of  table-salt 
and  water.  One  of  the  best  dressings  is  gauze  impregnated  with 
boric  acid  or  with  iodoform.  Several  layers  of  this  gauze  are 
placed  over  the  burned  parts  and  covered  with  oil-silk,  the  whole 
kept  in  place  with  a  bandage.  The  dressing  need  not  be  changed 
for  one  or  two  weeks.  Iodoform  is  particularly  valuable  for  the 


308  .  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

relief  of  pain.  The  only  objection  to  iodoform  is  its  odor.  One 
of  the  substitutes  for  it  is  known  as  europhen,  a  light  yellow 
powder  having  a  slight  but  not  unpleasant  smell.  Ulcers  left 
as  a  consequence  of  burns  can  often  be  healed  by  dusting  them 
over  with  a  fine  powder  of  Peruvian  bark,  called  by  the  drug- 
gists red  cinchona  bark. 

It  is  necessary  to  be  on  one's  guard  against  blood-poisoning, 
excessive  inflammation,  ulceration,  and  the  formation  of  vicious 
cicatrices.  Adjacent  surfaces  must  be  kept  apart,  and  extensive 
burns  necessitate  skin-grafting.  Great  deformity  and  maim- 
ing are  sometimes  consequent  upon  extensive  burns.  To  avoid 
these  results  is  the  anxious  endeavor  of  the  surgeon.  For  this 
reason  he  carefully  separates  adjoining  surfaces,  as,  for  ex- 
ample, the  arm  or  the  leg  is  separated  from  the  body  by  means 
of  softly  padded  splints. 

In  surgical  skin-grafting  minute  pieces  of  skin  are  removed 
from  a  healthy  person  and  laid  with  their  under  surfaces  down- 
ward upon  an  ulcer,  narrow  strips  of  pure  rubber  being  placed 
over  these  grafts  to  retain  them  in  place.  Over  the  rubber  are 
placed,  successively,  a  compress  wet  with  a  weak  solution  of 
salt  and  water,  a  pad  of  absorbent  cotton,  and  a  bandage.  An 
outer  dressing  of  plaster  of  Paris  is  useful  in  the  case  of  children, 
or  in  that  where  the  raw  surface  is  near  a  joint.  The  dressing 
requiring  readjusting  every  day  or  two,  the  part  is  then  washed 
with  a  weak  and  warm  solution  of  salt  and  water.  Grafts  are 
deposited  about  half  an  inch  from  one  another  and  from  the 
borders  of  the  ulcer.  Each  of  them  forms  a  center  from  which 
healing  extends.  This  process  accelerates  healing,  but  it  is  one 
which  can  be  successfully  undertaken  only  by  a  competent 
surgeon. 

CHILBLAINS. 

Extreme  cold  as  well  as  extreme  heat  is  capable  of  produc- 
ing inflammation  of  the  skin  and  even  of  the  tissues  beneath  the 
skin.  As  the  skin  is  so  richly  supplied  with  blood,  healthy  per- 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.          309 

sons  can  bear  exposure  to  cold  for  a  certain  period  without  ill 
effects,  but  when  the  temperature  is  very  low  and  the  exposure 
much  prolonged,  chilblains,  sometimes  called  frostbite,  may 
result.  Persons  whose  blood  is  thin  and  who  are  consequently 
weak,  are  easily  affected  in  this  way  by  low  temperature.  More- 
over, a  part  that  has  been  once  frostbitten  remains  unusually 
susceptible  to  cold.  The  parts  generally  attacked  are  the  ex- 
tremities of  the  body,  where  the  circulation  is  most  feeble,  the 
hands,  feet,  tip  of  the  nose,  ears,  and  cheeks.  In  the  first  class 
of  the  affection,  mere  redness  of  skin  is  produced;  in  the  sec- 
ond, blisters ;  and  in  the  third,  the  skin,  with  more  or  less  deeper 
tissue,  is  destroyed. 

In  a  mild  form  of  frostbite  the  skin  is,  in  the  beginning,  pale 
and  nearly  without  sensation.  Coming  into  a  warm  atmosphere, 
the  blood-vessels  dilate  and  the  surface  becomes  red  or  purplish. 
After  prolonged  and  intense  exposure  blisters  are  formed  which 
may  be  followed  by  ulceration.  The  most  severe  form  follows 
long  exposure  to  intense  and  moist  cold.  Drunkards,  owing 
to  the  fact  of  their  languid  circulation,  are  peculiarly  liable  to 
be  severely  attacked.  Large  blood-blisters  come  upon  the  skin, 
and  the  underlying  tissue  mortifies.  Sometimes  no  blisters  ap- 
pear, the  affected  surface  is  white  or  livid,  cold,  and  sensibility 
is  abolished,  followed  by  more  or  less  mortification. 

It  is  a  popular  practice  to  rub  the  part  vigorously  with 
snow  or  cold  water  in  order  to  restore  the  circulation.  If,  how- 
ever, the  part  has  been  actually  frozen,  the  application  of  warm 
water  is  to  be  recommended.  Afterwards,  if  the  circulation  be 
languid,  and  the  skin  unbroken,  stimulating  applications  may  be 
made  to  the  part.  A  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  tincture  of 
myrrh  and  the  compound  tincture  of  benzoin  is  a  very  good 
lotion.  Half  an  ounce  of  spirit  of  chloroform,  added  to  an 
ounce  and  a  half  of  the  compound  tincture  of  benzoin,  also  makes 
a  very  good  application.  Painting  the  part  with  tincture  of 
iodine  is  often  useful,  if  it  be  used  not  too  freely  at  one  time 
or  at  too  frequent  intervals.  Thin-blooded  persons  should  be 


3IO  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

given  a  preparation  of  iron,  should  be  warmly  clad,  and  should 
avoid  sudden  and  prolonged  exposure  to  cold.  If  a  person  be 
found  almost  perished  from  cold,  hot  applications  should  be 
made  all  over  the  body,  or  better  still,  he  should  be  put  in  a 
hot  bath,  covered  with  hot  blankets  upon  emerging,  be  given 
hot  drinks,  and  be  rubbed  briskly.  The  following  lotions  may 
be  recommended  as  useful  for  chilblains : — 

Solution  of  subacetate  of  lead   1  ounce. 

Laudanum     1  ounce. 

Distilled   witch-hazel    2  ounces. 

Mix.     This  liquid  is  frequently  sponged  upon  the  surface. 

Oil  of  camphor    •    20  drops. 

Balsam  of  Peru   • ." .      1  drachm. 

Suet    1  ounca. 

Mix.  These  ingredients  are  rubbed  together  to  form  an  ointment  which 
is  continually  used  upon  the  affected  part. 

When  ulceration  has  taken  place  the  surface  may  be  treated- 
with  an  ointment  composed  as  follows: — 

Balsam  of  Peru  1  drachm. 

Nitrate  of  mercury  ointment   2  drachms. 

Carbonate  of  zinc '. 1  drachm. 

Cold  cream   1  ounce. 

If  mortification  takes  place,  the  dead  parts  should  be  cut 
away  by  scissors  or  knife.  Upon  the  living  surface,  exposed  by 
this  operation,  a  mildly  stimulating  ointment  is  spread.  A  good 
preparation  is: — 

Boric  acid   •  .    2  ounces. 

Oxide  of  zinc  ointment 6  ounces. 

Cold  cream 6  ounces. 

ULCERS. 

Ulcers  were  once  defined  by  a  great  medical  authority  as 
mortification  in  miniature.  They  are  the  result  of  destructive 
inflammation.  The  death  of  the  tissue  attacked  may  be  due 
either  to  the  severity  of  the  inflammatory  process  or  to  depravity 
of  the  blood.  Ulcers  may  originate  from  either  mechanical  or 
chemical  irritation,  or  from  various  diseases.  They  develop 
rapidly  in  some  instances,  and  are  then  called  acute.  In  other 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.  3!  I 

cases,  their  onset  being  slow,  they  are  known  as  chronic  ulcers. 
Chronic  ulcers  occur  most  frequently  upon  the  leg,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  pressure  of  varicose  veins.  They  may,  however, 
appear  upon  any  part  of  the  body.  They  may  be  single,  or  a 
number  of  them  may  occur  at  the  same  time  in  different  regions. 

Rest  is  an  essential  in  the  treatment  of  ulcers.  If  the  disease 
is  acute  the  patient  must  remain  in  bed.  Internal  remedies  must 
depend  upon  the  cause  of  the  outbreak  and  the  condition  of  the 
patient.  If  fever  be  present,  a  purgative  medicine  should  be 
given.  The  citrate  of  magnesia  or  Epsom  salts  is  a  very  good 
medicine  for  the  purpose.  Sweet  spirits  of  nitre,  in  teaspoonful 
doses,  may  be  given  every  two  hours,  with  the  neutral  mixture, 
the  dose  of  which  is  a  tablespoonful.  The  neutral  mixture  can 
be  prepared  at  home  by  neutralizing  fresh  lemon-juice  with  bi- 
carbonate of  potassium.  It  reduces  fever,  moderates  thirst,  and 
allays  nausea.  If  a  specific  disease  is  the  cause  of  the  ulcer,  the 
internal  remedies  must,  of  course,  be  directed  to  the  constitu- 
tional disorder.  In  such  a  case  the  ulcer  is  merely  symptomatic 
and  will  heal  upon  the  disappearance  of  the  cause  which  gave 
it  birth. 

The  affected  part  should  not  only  be  kept  at  rest,  it  must 
also,  when  possible,  be  kept  in  an  elevated  position,  in  order  to 
avoid  accumulation  of  blood  there.  It  is  useful  to  bathe  the 
ulcer  from  time  to  time  with  hot  water.  When  the  ulcer's  ac- 
tion is  so  slow  that  the  patient  goes  about  with  difficulty, 
change  of  climate  will  often  produce  good  results. 

The  distilled  water  of  witch-hazel  is  a  good  application 
for  an  ulcerated  surface.  Most  cases  of  chronic  leg-ulcer  are 
benefited  by  compression  by  means  of  a  muslin,  preferably  a 
rubber  bandage.  In  many  cases  nothing  will  do  so  much  good  as 
light  incisions  into"  the  raw  surface  and  the  consequent  bleed- 
ing, promoted  by  placing  the  leg  in  a  pail  of  water  as  hot  as  it 
can  be  borne.  The  loss  of  blood  relieves  the  engorgement  of  the 
capillary  blood-vessels  and  assists  the  work  of  repair.  Vari- 
ous medicaments  are  applied,  either  with  or  without  compres- 


312  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

sion,  to  chronic  ulcers.  Among  the  many  useful  applications  are 
balsam  of  Peru,  iodoform,  aristol,  a  mixture  of  camphor  and 
salicylic  acid,  benzoic  acid,  benzoate  of  bismuth,  subiodide  of 
bismuth.  Some  of  these  drugs  in  the  form  of  a  powder  are 
dusted  upon  the  ulcerated  parts;  others  are  made  into  solutions 
with  water  and  alcohol,  or,  rubbed  up  with  some  fatty  substance, 
form  ointments.  The  following  are  serviceable  formulae: — 

Powdered  Peruvian  bark   *.    3  drachma. 

Subnitrate  of  bismuth   3  drachms. 

Mix.     Use  as  a  powder. 

Subiodide  of  bismuth 1  drachm. 

Powdered  cinchona  bark   1  ounce. 

Mix.     Use  as  a  powder. 

Tincture  of  witch-hazel   %  ounce. 

Hydrate  of  chloral    '. 1       drachm. 

Water    : 3^  ounces. 

Mix.  Saturate  a  piece  of  old  muslin  or  of  lint  in  the  solution  and  apply 
to  the  ulcer. 

Iodoform    2  drachms. 

Balsam  of  Peru  2  drachms. 

Lanolin    1  ounce. 

Mix.     For  old  ulcers  apply  on  absorbent  cotton. 

Carbonate  of  zinc '. 1  drachm. 

Creasote    5  drops. 

Powdered  starch    1  drachm. 

Carbonate  of  lead  ointment 1  ounce. 

Mix.     An  excellent  soothing  ointment  for  acute  ulcers. 

Powdered  ergot 2  drachms. 

Powdered  chlorate  of  potassium y2  drachm. 

Lard 1  ounce. 

For  chronic  ulcer. 

BOILS. 

A  boil  is  an  area  of  inflammation  situated  in  the  true  skin 
and  the  loose  cellular  tissue  beneath  it,  having  a  dead  center, 
popularly  known  as  "the  core,"  and  ending  its  activity  with  the 
formation  of  matter  and  suppuration.  The  ordinary  boil  is 
attended  with  throbbing  and  pain.  In  the  case  of  what  are  called 
"blind  boils,"  there  is  no  formation  of  matter  nor  suppuration. 
Boils  often  come  in  crops,  new  ones  making  their  appearance 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.  313 

as  the  old  ones  are  going.  Any  part  of  the  body  may  be  at- 
tacked by  them,  although  they  exhibit  preference  for  certain 
localities,  which  are  the  face,  neck,  breast,  armpits,  and  the  ex- 
tremities of  the  body.  They  are  indicative  of  some  disorder  of 
the  system,  sometimes  of  the  digestion.  They  occur  frequently  in 
cases  of  diabetes,  scrofula,  consumption,  goutr  rheumatism,  etc. 
When  predisposition  to  them  exists,  a  slight  irritation  of  the  skin 
may  lead  to  an  attack. 

A  change  of  air  often  proves  useful  in  their  treatment.  A 
sufferer  from  them  needs  fresh  air  and  plain,  nutritious  diet.  If 
depressed  physically,  such  tonic  remedies  as  iron  and  codliver- 
oil  are  needed.  Old  people  are  benefited  by  the  moderate  use 
of  malt  or  spirituous  liquors.  Young  people  are  often  improved 
by  the  occasional  administration  of  a  purgative.  When  the 
boils  are  appearing  in  successive  crops  it  is  useful  to  give  the 
sufferer  from  five  to  ten  grains  of  the  chlorate  of  potassium, 
dissolved  in  water,  three  or  four  times  a  day.  If  he  be  pale,  a 
preparation  of  iron  is  judiciously  added.  A  tablespoonful  or 
two  of  yeast  before  each  meal  is  thought  to  be  efficacious. 

Compression  of  boils  will  often,  in  their  formative  stage, 
check  their  development.  Covering  the  part  with  soap-plaster 
tends  to  expedite  the  boils  coming  to  a  head.  Sometimes  a 
touch  of  lunar  caustic  on  the  head  of  the  boil  will  cause  it  to 
disappear.  A  wash  composed  of  equal  parts  of  tincture  of 
iodine,  tincture  of  arnica,  and  camphorated  alcohol,  will,  in 
some  instances,  prevent  the  formation  of  new  boils.  Other  means 
used  for  the  same  purpose  are  saturating  the  skin  with  a  solution 
of  salicylic  acid  and  using  a  solution  of  two  and  a  half  drachms 
of  chloral  to  ten  drachms  of  glycerine  and  ten  of  water.  Bella- 
donna ointment,  or  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  belladonna  and 
mercurial  ointment  will  sometimes  accomplish  the  object. 

If  efforts  to  prevent  a  boil  from  coming  to  a  head  are  a 

*  failure,  the  tension  and  pain  in  it  are  relieved  by  covering  the 

swelling  with  a  solution  of  one  part  of  laudanum  to  seven  parts 

of  leadwater,  with  diluted  tincture  of  witch-hazel,  or  the  tine- 


314  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

ture  of  arnica.  If  matter  begins  to  form,  a  warm  poultice  is 
useful.  As  soon  as  it  may  be  ascertained  that  the  swelling  con- 
tains abundance  of  matter,  a  free  incision  into  it  should  be 
made. 

CARBUNCLE. 

The  formation  of  a  carbuncle  is  usually  accompanied  by  a 
chill,  fever,  pain,  weakness,  loss  of  appetite,  and  sickness  at 
the  stomach.  The  skin  eventually  ruptures  at  numerous  points, 
from  which  blood-stained  matter  escapes.  When  the  central 
portion  of  the  carbuncle  dies,  it  must  either  be  discharged  piece- 
meal, or,  involving  the  destruction  of  a  large  area  of  skin,  come 
away  entire.  The  discharge  of  the  core  leaves  a  large,  ulcerated 
cavity,  which  fills  up  slowly  and  leaves  a  considerable  scar.  The 
back  of  the  neck  is  a  favorite  location  for  carbuncles.  The  car- 
buncle is  dangerous  to  old  people,  often  causing  death.  It  occurs 
more  frequently  in  summer  than  in  winter,  and  in  men  than  in 
women. 

In  a  carbuncular  attack  the  system  must  be  supported  by  good 
nursing,  nutritious  diet,  and  stimulants.  As  medicines  for  it, 
the  tincture  of  iron  and  quinine  are  most  valuable.  About  half 
a  teaspoonful  of  iron  may  be  given  in  a  wineglassful  of  water 
every  two  or  three  hours,  and  about  nine  grains  of  quinine  in 
three  doses  during  the  day.  It  is  generally  necessary  to  admin- 
ister an  opiate  in  order  to  mitigate  the  pain  of  the  carbuncle. 
From  twenty  to  thirty  drops  of  laudanum  may  be  given  to  an 
adult,  and  this  dose  repeated  every  third,  fourth,  or  sixth  hour, 
according  to  the  effect  observed.  It  is  always  necessary  to 
closely  watch  the  effect  of  laudanum.  If  it  allays  suffering 
without  producing  too  much  drowsiness,  no  danger  need  be 
apprehended.  When  great  drowsiness  is  caused  and  the  pupil 
of  the  eye  becomes  very  small  and  does  not  enlarge  when  the 
eyelid  is  held  down  for  a  moment  or  two  and  then  suddenly  lifted, 
the  dose  of  laudanum  should  not  be  renewed  until  decided  pajn 
recurs  and  the  pupil  has  resumed  its  natural  size. 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.  315 

In  the  early  stage  of  the  disease,  cold  compresses,  or  even 
ice,  are  beneficial.  Camphor  and  phenol  (carbolic  acid),  equal 
parts,  is  a  useful  external  remedy.  So  is  the  diluted  extract  of 
witch-hazel.  A  paste  much  employed  by  Professor  Leloir  in  the 
early  stage  of  both  boils  and  carbuncles  is  thus  composed : — 

Mercury     20  parts. 

Turpentine 20  parts. 

Lead  plaster 50  parts. 

Resin    10  parts. 

Carbolic  acid    7  parts. 

Extract  of  belladonna 10  parts. 

Mix. 

Some  of  this  paste  is  kept  constantly  applied  for  the  pur- 
pose of  limiting  or  checking  the  formation  of  matter. 

As  soon  as  matter  forms,  warm  poultices  are  to  be  applied 
and  the  swelling  may  be  freely  incised  by  a  surgeon.  It  is  then 
washed  out  and  dressed  with  a  mixture  of  one  part  of  carbolic 
acid  to  twenty  parts  of  olive  oil,  with  balsam  of  Peru  or 
iodoform. 

NETTLE-RASH    OR   HIVES. 

Urticaria  is  the  medical  name  of  nettle-rash.  Among  ex- 
ternal causes  of  the  disease  of  nettle-rash  may  be  cited  contact 
with  the  plant  called  the  nettle,  with  the  star-fish,  the  jelly-fish, 
the  bites  of  mosquitoes,  or  other  insects,  coarse  flannel  under- 
wear, some  kinds  of  dyed  underwear. 

The  internal  cause  of  nettle-rash  is,  in  a  majority  of  cases, 
an  irritation  of  the  digestive  system.  Certain  edibles  are  par- 
ticularly apt  to  cause  an  outbreak  of  it :  shell-fish,  sausage,  mush- 
rooms, oatmeal,  rice,  berries,  and  buttermilk.  Some  drugs  also 
produce  it.  It  may  be  merely  symptomatic  of  some  organic  or 
constitutional  disorder.  The  disease  appears  on  the  skin  in  the 
form  of  wheals  or  hives  varying  in  size  from  that  of  a  split  pea 
to  that  of  a  pigeon's  egg.  The  patient  suffers  from  sensations  of 
burning,  stinging,  tingling,  and  itching.  A  peculiarity  of  the 
disease  is  the  abrupt  manner  in  which  it  appears,  disappears,  or 
transfers  itself  from  one  to  another  portion  of  the  body.  As  a 


316  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

general  rule,  an  attack  lasts  for  only  a  few  hours,  but  there  are 
cases  in  which  it  becomes  chronic  and  may  remain  for  years.  In 
weakly  or  unhealthy  children  the  eruption  is  more  like  a  pimple 
than  a  wheal.  In  some  cases,  blisters,  as  well  as  wheals,  form,  or 
the  wheals  become  large  blisters.  Some  are  distinguished  by  the 
immense  size  of  the  wheals.  A  variety  is  complicated  with  an- 
other disease,  and  haemorrhages  occur  in  the  substance  of  the 
wheals.  The  eruption  is  sometimes  intermittent,  occurring  at 
regular  periods  of  every  two  or  three  days,  and  again  on  a  cer- 
tain day  of  every  week.  The  disease  may  attack  persons  of  any 
age,  but  it  is  most  frequent  in  children. 

It  is  good  practice  to  empty  the  stomach  and  bowels.  If 
an  attack  comes  on  soon  after  a  meal,  an  emetic  will  often  be 
followed  by  immediate  relief.  If  some  hours  have  passed  \he 
same  result  may  be  secured  by  a  dose  of  castor-oil,  Epsom  salts, 
or  Rochelle  salts.  For  a  day  or  two  the  diet  should  be  very 
simple,  consisting  of  bread  and  milk,  with  soup  or  broth.  Al- 
coholic liquors  should  be  avoided.  If  the  stomach  be  irritable 
the  bicarbonate  of  sodium  in  from  one-  to  five-grain  doses,  dis- 
solved in  water  and  given  every  second  hour,  or  the  subnitrate 
of  bismuth,  of  the  same  dose  in  mucilage  of  gum-arabic,  or 
stirred  into  water,  will  often  prove  effectual  in  reducing  the  irri- 
tation. If  there  is  a  tendency  to  repeated  attacks  the  following 
prescription  is  good : — 

Sulphate  of  magnesia %  ounce. 

Sulphate  of  iron  12  grains. 

Dilute  sulphuric  acid 1  drachm. 

Water  enough  to  make 3  ounces. 

Mix.  Of  this  solution  two  teaspoonfuls  are  given  three  times  a  day  in 
plenty  of  water,  taken  through  a  glass  tube  or  a  straw,  cleaning  the  teeth 
afterward. 

Alkaline  mineral  waters  are  also  of  service.  If  the  di- 
gestion is  habitually  disordered,  it  is  advisable  to  administer  after 
each  meal  a  powder  consisting  of  ten  grains  of  pepsin  with  one 
grain  of  ipecacuanha.  Obstinate  cases  are  benefited  by  the 
administration  of  from  half  a  drachm  to  a  drachm  of  sulphur- 
ous acid  freely  diluted  with  water  three  times  a  day. 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.          317 

When  nettle-rash  is  persistent  the  administration  of  ten 
drops  of  fluid  extract  of  jaborandi,  three  times  a  day,  will  some- 
times prove  very  effective.  It  allays  the  itching  of  the  disease 
and  keeps  the  skin  slightly  moist,  which,  in  chronic  cases,  is 
apt  to  be  dry  and  harsh.  The  clothing  should  be  of  the  lightest 
and  loosest  kind.  The  skin  may  be  sponged  with  a  lotion  or  cov- 
ered by  an  ointment.  For  sponging,  cold  water  is  sometimes  all 
that  is  needed.  Equal  parts  of  vinegar  and  water  may  allay 
the  itching,  or  one  part  of  whiskey  to  two  of  water.  A  hot 
mustard  foot-bath  has  been  known  to  succeed.  A  drachm  of 
bicarbonate  of  sodium  or  a  drachm  and  a  half  of  bicarbonate  of 
potassium,  dissolved  in  water,  makes  a  good  lotion,  or  a  drachm 
of  creosote  to  a  pint  of  water.  The  following  lotion  is  a  good 
one: — 

Carbolic  acid  (phenol)    %  drachm. 

Alcohol     4  drachms. 

Camphor  water   6  ounces. 

Mix. 

Another  good  lotion  is  five  grains  of  menthol  dissolved  in 
one  ounce  of  water.  Sweet  spirits  of  nitre  either  plain  or 
diluted  with  water  is  sometimes  efficacious;  also  a  mixture  of 
one  part  of  ether  to  two  parts  of  lukewarm  water.  Thirty 
grains  of  chloral  or  ten  drops  of  chloroform  to  an  ounce  of 
water,  or  a  drachm  of  alcohol  and  four  ounces  of  water  make 
good  lotions. 

Sometimes  relief  may  be  obtained  from  oxide  of  zinc  oint- 
ment applied  to  the  skin.  Carbolic  acid,  menthol,  cocaine,  and 
other  substances  may  be  made  into  useful  ointments  for  local 
application. 

PRICKLY    HEAT. 

In  medicine,  prickly  heat  is  called  miliaria.  It  is  an  affection 
from  atmospheric  heat,  and  one  which  especially  attacks  children 
and  fat  persons.  It  generally  appears  in  the  form  of  numerous 
small,  bright-red  pimples.  In  some  cases,  minute  blisters,  in- 
stead of  pimples,  appear. 


318  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

Simple  treatment  is  effective  in  this  affection.  The  clothes 
worn  should  be  lig"ht,  meats  and  spices  should  be  avoided,  and 
lemonade  be  drunk  with  advantage.  If  the  sufferer  be  debili- 
tated, iron  should  be  taken.  Cold  water,  freely  used,  is  the  best 
external  application,  the  skin  being  then  dried  with  a  soft  cloth 
and  covered  with  a  bland  dusting  powder,  such  as  the  subnitrate 
of  bismuth  or  the  oxide  of  zinc.  If  itching  is  unusually  severe, 
it  may  be  relieved  by  sponging  the  parts  with  a  lotion  contain- 
ing three  drops  of  carbolic  acid  to  an  ounce  of  water.  Pepper- 
mint-water or  menthol,  five  grains  to  the  ounce  of  water,  are 
also  useful  Creasote  water,  a  drachm  to  the  pint  of  water, 
makes  a  good  application.  Sometimes  ointments  are  preferable 
to  lotions. 

IVY-POISONING. 

Certain  varieties  of  ivy  and  sumach  excite  in  some  persons 
an  active  inflammation  of  the  skin.  It  is  well  to  know  that  the 
poisonous  ivy  has  only  three  leaves,  whereas  the  five-leaved 
variety  is  harmless.  The  berries  of  the  poisonous  sumach  are 
white,  whereas  the  red-berry  variety  is  harmless.  Some  persons 
are  so  susceptible  to  the  poison  of  the  ivy  that  they  can  receive 
it  through  the  atmosphere. 

The  inflammation  from  ivy-poisoning  is  reduced  by  soothing 
and  slightly  astringent  lotions.  One  of  the  best  of  these  is 
made  by  adding  from  a  half  to  one  drachm  of  the  fluid  extract 
of  grind  elia  robust  a  to  four  or  six  ounces  of  water.  A  strong 
decoction  of  chestnut-leaves  is  another  useful  application.  De- 
coctions of  white  or  of  black  oak-bark,  alder-bark,  or  geranium 
maculatum  are  also  serviceable.  Keeping  the  parts  covered  with 
a  solution  of  six  drachms  of  hyposulphite  of  sodium  to  the  quart 
of  water  affords  relief.  Lime-water,  lead-water,  and  laudanum 
diluted  with  tincture  of  witch-hazel,  a  solution  of  boric  acid  or  of 
borax,  or  a  solution  of  bicarbonate  of  sodium  combined  with 
borax,  ice,  and  ice-water,  and  distilled  witch-hazel-water  are  like- 
wise good  preparations. 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.  319 

PARASITES. 

There  is  a  large  class  of  diseases  produced  by  parasites 
which  frequent  the  body  of  man.  Some  of  these  lowly  organ- 
isms are  of  animal  and  others  of  fungus  origin.  The  animal 
parasites  that  dwell  upon  the  skin  and  excite  disease  are  the  itch- 
mite  and  the  louse. 

ITCH. 

Itch  is  a  contagious  affection,  as  the  insect  which  causes  it 
is  transferable  from  one  person  to  another.  It  is  frequent  in 
camps,  ships,  schools,  tenement-houses,  and  other  places  where 
many  persons  are  congregated.  Owing  to  general  attention  to 
cleanliness  in  this  country  it  is  not  prevalent  here.  It  is  preva- 
lent in  Germany,  Austria,  France,  Norway,  and  Sweden.  This 
itch,  or  scabies,  as  it  is  medically  called,  is  recognizable  by  the 
presence  on  the  skin  of  many  hard  and  soft,  red  and  white  pim- 
ples, together  with  blisters.  It  attacks  by  preference  certain 
regions  of  the  body,  being  most  common  between  the  fingers, 
front  and  back  of  the  fingers,  upon  the  back  of  the  hands,  the 
backs  of  the  arms,  the  armpits,  the  breast,  the  feet,  and  the  toes. 
The  mite  is  from  one-sixtieth  to  one-seventieth  of  an  inch  in 
length. 

Old  cases  of  itch  are  attended  with  considerable  discoloration 
of  the  skin.  The  burrows  which  the  mites  make  appear  as  dotted, 
slightly  raised  lines,  whitish  or  darkish  in  color,  depending  upon 
the  occupation  of  the  sufferer.  The  pimples  and  blisters  occa- 
sioned by  irritation  from  scratching  for  relief  resembles  those 
of  moist  tetter,  but  their  occurrence  only 'in  the  situations  men- 
tioned serves  to  distinguish  them  from  those  due  to  moist  tetter. 

The  treatment  of  itch  is  directed  to  the  destruction  of  the 
parasite  and  the  alleviation  of  the  irritation  which  it  has  caused. 
Sulphur  is  one  of  the  most  efficacious  remedies,  and  is  adminis- 
tered in  the  form  of  an  ointment,  from  one-half  to  two  or 
three  drachms  of  it  being  mixed  with  an  ounce  of  lard.  One 
ounce  of  siorax  to  two  ounces  of  lard,  or  storax  mixed  with  an 


32O  HEALTH    AND   BEAUfV. 

equal  amount  of  olive  oil,  makes  a  good  application.  One  part 
of  carbolic  acid  (phenol)  to  fifteen  parts  of  olive-oil  is  effective 
and  the  carbolic  acid  alleviates  the  itching  as  well  as  destroys  the 
mite.  Carbolized  oil  is  serviceable  in  obstinate  cases.  The 
most  generally  beneficial  application  is  naphthol.  It,  too,  both 
kills  the  mite  and  soothes.  For  an  adult  an  ointment  may  be 
made  by  mixing  half  a  drachm  of  naphthol  with  an  ounce  of 
fresh  lard  or  of  lanolin.  The  ointment  can  be  made  weaker 
or  stronger  in  proportion  to  the  age  of  the  sufferer  or  the  sen- 
sitiveness of  the  skin.  Precede  the  application  of  any  remedy  for 
itch  by  a  hot  bath,  of  a  hundred  degrees  Fahrenheit,  containing 
four  ounces  of  sulphide  of  potassium  to  thirty  gallons  of  water. 
Three  baths  of  this  kind  are  generally  given.  When  the  dis- 
ease has  been  extirpated,  the  clothing  should  be  boiled,  in  order 
to  destroy  any  parasites  adherent  to  it.  Gloves  had  better  be 
burned. 

LOUSINESS. 

Lice  which  infest  the  head  are  of  a  different  species  from 
those  which  attack  the  body  and  live  in  the  clothing.  The 
favorite  location  of  those  which  infest  the  head  is  on  the  back 
of  the  head.  Debilitated  and  badly-nourished  persons  suffer 
more  than  others  from  an  attack  of  head-lice.  Body-lice  cause 
white  pimples  and  wheals,  and  hsemorrhagic  spots,  and  in  old 
severe  cases,  the  skin  is,  at  the  places  attacked,  darkened  as  well 
as  thickened  with  a  discoloration  which  is  sometimes  almost 
black.  There  is  a  third  variety,  called  crab-lice,  which  infests  the 
generative  organs  and  sometimes  even  the  eyebrows,  eyelashes, 
and  armpits.  Anyone  may,  in  traveling,  incur  an  attack  from 
lice  of  the  different  kinds. 

The  most  cleanly,  easy,  and  effective  way  to  remove  head- 
lice  is  by  naphthol  or  corrosive  sublimate  soap,  for  it  removes 
not  only  the  insects,  but  the  crusts  which  they  have  caused.  To 
get  rid  of  body-lice  the  clothing  that  has  been  worn  should  be 
burned,  or  at  least  subjected  to  prolonged  boiling,  and  the  body 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.  32! 

cleansed  by  a  warm  bath  and  the  use  of  either  naphthol  or 
corrosive  sublimate  soap.  That  species  of  insects  which  fre- 
quents the  parts  of  the  body  previously  mentioned  is  destroyed 
by  the  same  means. 

RINGWORM. 

Ringworm  is  the  common  name  of  a  great  class  of  skin- 
diseases.  It  is  caused  by  a  fungus  parasite  and  can  be  communi- 
cated from  person  to  person.  As  it  may  affect  different  parts 
of  the  body,  its  varieties  are  named  in  accordance  with  that 
fact.  There  is  ringworm  of  the  body,  the  scalp,  the  beard,  and 
even  of  the  nails. 

RINGWORM  OF  THE  BODY. 

The  disease,  when  on  the  body,  begins  with  a  small,  round, 
slightly  raised  spot,  slightly  scaly  on  top.  As  spots  enlarge 
they  become  round  patches.  The  central  portion  then  fades 
more  or  less,  leaving  a  ring  of  redness  surrounding  a  portion 
of  healthy  or  comparatively  healthy  skin.  In  time,  the  redness 
of  the  center  is  liable  to  reappear  and  repeat  the  fading  process. 
In  this  way  several  concentric  rings  are  formed,  and  the  edges 
of  exterior  rings  may  coalesce.  In  some  cases,  ringworms  dis- 
appear spontaneously  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks;  in  others 
they  continue  for  an  indefinite  period.  Sometimes  the  disease 
disappears  during  summer  and  is  renewed  in  winter.  When 
chronic  the  patches  are  of  irregular  shape  and  size,  of  a  dark 
red  or  brownish  color,  and  are  covered  with  small  scales.  Face, 
neck,  back  of  the  hands  and  arms,  are  the  favorite  sites  of  ring- 
worm. When  the  nails  are  invaded  by  the  parasite  they  become 
dry,  thick,  and  brittle,  and  either  crack  or  separate  in  layers. 

For  treatment  of  ringworm,  sometimes  a  few  applications  of 
the  tincture  of  iodine  is  all  that  is  necessary.  A  drachm  of  sul- 
phurous acid  to  an  ounce  of  alcohol  is  sometimes  used  with 
good  effect.  An  ointment  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  grains  of 
carbolic  acid  to  an  ounce  of  lard ;  forty  grains  of  salicylic  acid,  or 

21 


322  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

twenty  grains  of  thymol  to  an  ounce  of  lard  may  be  used  with 
benefit.  Preparations  of  sulphur  are  good.  The  very  best  ap- 
plication, however,  is  an  ointment  of  the  oleate  of  copper.  Pure 
oleate  of  copper  has  the  power  of  destroying  the  ringworm 
parasite.  Free  use  of  water  upon  the  surface  must  be  avoided, 
for  it  promotes  the  growth  of  the  parasite  and  consequently 
counteracts  the  effect  of  the  curative  application.  A  good  for- 
mula where  the  oleate  of  copper  is  used  is  the  following: — 

Boric  acid  •  . .  .   30  grains. 

Oleate  of  copper   24  grains. 

Lanolin    %  ounce. 

Mix.  If  it  does  not  prove  strong  enough,  the  amount  of  oleate  of  copper 
can  be  increased. 

BARBER'S  ITCH. 

Another  form  of  ringworm  is  barber's  itch.  It  neces- 
sarily affects  only  adult  men  and  the  bearded  parts  of  the  face. 
It  may  be  conveyed  by  contagion,  as,  for  instance,  from  ring- 
worm upon  another  portion  of  the  body,  or  from  a  child  afflicted 
with  ringworm  of  the  scalp.  The  usual  way  in  which,  however, 
it  is  conveyed,  is  by  contaminated  instruments  of  the  barber. 
It  is  most  common  between  the  twentieth  and  fortieth  years  of 
age.  The  eruption  is  of  small,  round,  red,  and  scaly  patches 
upon  the  lip,  cheek,  or  chin.  After  a  time,  deeper  portions  of 
the  skin  become  inflamed  by  the  parasite,  and  larger  pimples 
are  formed,  roughening  the  surface,  at  last  suppurating  and 
discharging  their  contents  as  thick  yellow  crusts.  As  the  dis- 
ease progresses  the  hairs  lose  their  polish  and  become  dry  and 
brittle.  Finally,  loss  of  hair  over  a  large  surface  may  occur. 
In  mild  cases,  however,  the  hairs  are  unaffected.  The  disease  is 
of  an  essentially  chronic  tendency. 

It  is  not  advisable  to  clip  the  beard  clos'e,  to  shave,  or  to 
pluck  out  the  hairs  by  the  roots.  The  last  two  procedures  add 
to  the  inflammation.  An  excellent  application  for  barber's  itch 
is  the  compound  known  as  the  fifty  per  cent,  solution  of  boro- 
glyccride.  The  liquid  is  mopped  on  the  surface  night  and  morn- 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.  323 

ing,  and  rubbed  in  with  the  tips  of  the  fingers.  Oleate  of  copper, 
too,  is  as  efficacious  in  the  treatment  of  barber's  itch  as  it  is  in 
the  case  of  ringworm  of  the  body.  The  formula  for  it  has 
been  already  given  in  connection  with  the  description  of  ring- 
worm of  the  body.  Another  good  application  for  barber's  itch 
is  thus  composed: — 

Boric    acid 4  drachms. 

Sulphuric  ether   5  ounces. 

Alcohol  enough  to  make 20  ounces. 

Mix. 

It  is  a  good  practice,  in  order  to  guard  against  communicat- 
ing the  disease  to  other  persons,  to  rub  into  the  beard  a  solution 
of  thymol,  of  forty-eight  grains  to  the  ounce  of  olive-oil,  or  of 
the  oil  of  sweet  almonds. 

RINGWORM    OF   THE    SCALP. 

This  description  of  ringworm  of  the  scalp  would  appear 
appropriately  in  a  subsequent  chapter  devoted  to  diseases  of  the 
hair;  but  as  we  are  considering  the  subject  of  ringworm,  it 
will  appear  just  as  appropriately  in  this  place.  This  kind  of 
ringworm  generally  begins  in  the  form  of  a  round  spot  of  a 
grayish  or  pale  red  tint,  slightly  raised  and  covered  with  fine 
scales.  In  the  progress  of  the  disease  more  or  less  temporary 
baldness  is  produced.  There  is,  in  this  form  of  the  disease, 
the  same  tendency  to  heal  in  the  center  of  the  eruption,  and  to 
form  rings  of  the  red  and  scaly  character  already  discussed.  In 
severe  cases  nearly  all  the  hair  of  the  head  may  be  lost.  In 
scrofulous  children  much  matter  may  be  produced  upon  the 
affected  surface,  which,  drying,  leaves  the  head  covered  with 
thick,  yellow  crusts. 

Ringworm  of  the  scalp  is  a  contagious  disease,  and  often 
spreads  through  families,  children's  asylums,  and  schools.  It  is 
essential,  therefore,  that  the  sufferer  should  be,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, isolated  from  companionship.  Different  rooms  must  be 
occupied  by  sufferers,  different  brushes,  combs,  etc.,  used  by 


324  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

them,  different  hats,  clothing,  etc.  The  heads  of  other  children 
near  them  should  be  washed  daily  with  a  weak  solution  of  borax 
and  alcohol,  and  then  anointed  with  a  mixture  of  ten  grains  of  thy- 
mol to  one  ounce  of  olive-oil.  It  is  beneficial  to  sponge  the  erup- 
tion every  day  or  two  with  the  alcoholic  solution  of  thymol  or 
borax,  and  subsequently  to  add  to  it  the  fifty  per  cent,  solution  of 
boroglyccride.  In  its  early  stage  this  treatment  alone  will  often 
cure  the  disease.  In  case,  however,  that  it  proves  unsuccessful,  we 
may  then  resort  to  the  oleate  of  copper  as  already  previously 
described.  A  small  amount  of  it  should,  every  night  and  morn- 
ing, be  rubbed  into  the  diseased  surface — no  water  being  allowed 
to  come  into  contact  with  it.  After  the  subsidence  of  an  epidemic 
of  the  disease,  in  asylum  or  school,  the  walls  should  be  white- 
washed or  painted,  and  the  floors  washed  with  a  solution  of  cor- 
rosive sublimate.  The  brushes  and  combs  of  an  asylum  should 
be  burned. 

SYCOSIS. 

Sycosis  strongly  resembles  barber's  itch  in  respect  of  the  fact 
that  it  attacks  the  beard.  But  sycosis  is  not  parasitic  and  is 
not  contagious.  It  is  associated  with  some  failure  of  the  health. 
It  may  follow  the  use  of  innutritious  food  or  excesses  of  various 
kinds.  It  occurs  sometimes  during  convalescence  from  severe 
attacks  of  disease,  and  among  those  persons  who  are  mentally 
or  physically  overworked.  It  begins  with  pimples  situated 
around  the  hair-follicles.  These  generally  become  filled  with 
matter,  and  the  hairs  become  loosened  by  the  process  of  sup- 
puration. The  skin  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  pimples  is  hot 
and  swollen.  Considerable  pain  accompanies  the  eruption.  Very 
often  the  matter  within  the  white  pimples  is  not  discharged. 
When  it  is  discharged  it  forms  crusts.  In  the  milder  cases  the 
pimples  stand  apart.  If  the  inflammation  becomes  severe,  they 
coalesce,  and  the  part  becomes  extremely  swollen  and  the  for- 
mation and  discharge  of  matter  sufficient  to  cause  permanent 
scars  and  loss  of  hair. 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.  325 

The  appearance  of  sycosis  is  unlike  that  of  barber's  itch, 
from  the  fact  that  in  sycosis  the  pimples  are  pierced  in  the.  cen- 
ter by  healthy  hairs.  The  hairs  remain  firmly  fixed  until  loosened 
by  suppuration.  Then  they  are  easily  extracted  and  their  roots 
are  found  to  be  swollen  and  covered  with  matter.  This  is  not  the 
case  in  barber's  itch.  In  that  the  appearance  of  the  hairs  is  en- 
tirely different,  the  dead,  nibbled  appearance  of  the  hairs,  amidst 
scurvy  patches,  being  entirely  different  from  that  of  sycosis. 

As  sycosis  is  associated  with  debility,  the  sufferer  needs 
a  nutritious  and  digestible  diet  and  tonic  medicines — quinine, 
cod-liver  oil,  maltine,  compound  syrup  of  the  hypophosphites. 
The  hair  may  be  cut  short,  but  should  not  be  shaved  or  plucked 
out.  When  the  disease  is  in  the  active  stage,  nothing  but  mild, 
soothing  applications  should  be  made  to  the  skin.  Crusts  can 
be  removed  by  saturating  them  with  oil,  or  by  the  employment 
of  a  flaxseed  or  starch  poultice.  Lead-water  or  a  weak  solution 
of  witch-hazel  reduces  the  inflammation.  Olive-oil,  the  oil  of 
ergot,  or  codliver-oil  serves  the  same  purpose.  Oxide  of  zinc 
ointment  or  a  salve  of  subnitrate  of  bismuth  is  beneficial.  In 
the  chronic  form  of  the  disease,  an  ointment  of  sulphur,  tar, 
naphthol,  or  carbolic  acid  may  be  used  with  advantage.  Punc- 
ture of  the  pimples  and  swollen  tissues  is  useful,  but  can  be 
properly  performed  only  by  a  surgeon. 

GROUPS    OF    BLISTERS. 

Persons  with  a  delicate,  sensitive  skin  are  liable  to  be  at- 
tacked by  small  blisters  upon  various  parts  of  the  body.  They 
may  be  caused  by  a  disordered  condition  of  the  mucous  mem- 
brane of  the  respiratory  or  of  the  digestive  tracts,  and  are 
characterized  by  being  closely  grouped  together.  They  may  also 
occur  in  consequence  of  cold  and  other  atmospheric  causes,  and 
for  this  reason  they  are  often  called  "cold-sores."  They  may 
sometimes  accompany  or  follow  some  febrile  disturbance,  and 
are  therefore  known  as  "fever-blisters."  Cold-sores,  fever-blis- 
ters, or  herpes,  to  use  the  medical  name,  are  blisters  rising  from 


326  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

a  red  surface  and  varying  in  size  from  that  of  a  pin's  head  to  that 
of  a  split  pea.  Herpes  may  occur  upon  almost  any  part  of  the 
body,  even  in  the  mouth.  It  generally  lasts  about  a  week. 

A  solution  of  camphor  or  of  menthol  is  a  good  application 
in  this  affection.  It  may  be  made  to  disappear  by  moistening  it 
with  alcohol  in  which  a  little  thymol  or  menthol  has  been  dis- 
solved ;  indeed,  alcohol  alone  may  suffice.  The  liquid  should  be 
kept  in  contact  with  the  sores  by  means  of  compresses  covered 
with  absorbent  cotton  held  in  position  by  sticking  plaster. 
Among  the  medicated  plasters  appropriate  are  those  of  bella- 
donna and  boric  acid,  oxide  of  zinc,  camphor,  and  opium.  The 
advantage  of  using  plasters  is  that  they  remain  in  position. 
Whenever  the  position  of  the  surface  admits  of  it,  starch  powder, 
lycopodium,  the  subnitrate  of  bismuth,  carbonate  of  lead,  calomel, 
and  finely  powdered  Peruvian  bark  make  excellent  dusting- 
powders. 

SHINGLES. 

There  is  another  form  of  herpes;  the  eruption  consisting 
of  little  blisters  upon  a  reddened  skin,  but  limited  in  its  position 
by  its  following  the  course  of  some  nerve.  The  line  of  erup- 
tion may  extend  around  the  body,  for  which  reason  one  of  the 
medical  names  of  the  disease  is  zona,  a  "girdle."  The  develop- 
ment of  shingles  is  often  accompanied  by  fever,  and  pain  may 
be  experienced  days  before  the  outbreak  of  the  eruption.  In 
three  or  four  days  the  water  of  the  blisters  changes  into  mat- 
ter, which  in  a  week  or  two  dries  into  crusts. 

The  duration  of  shingles  varies  from  one  week  to  several 
weeks.  It  most  frequently  attacks  young  persons,  and  occurs 
equally  in  both  sexes.  There  are  regions  of  the  body  which  are 
peculiarly  liable  to  its  attacks.  These  are  the  face,  the  sides, 
and  the  breast.  In  these  situations,  the  blisters  follow  the 
course  of  the  large  nerves,  which  lie  not  far  below  the  surface. 
In  rare  cases  of  shingles  of  the  face  it  attacks  the  eye  and 
causes  serious  inflammation.  Upon  the  body,  shingles,  as  a 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.  327 

general  rule,  manifests  itself  only  on  one  side  of  the  body,  gen- 
erally the  right.  A  popular  belief  exists  that  if  the  eruption 
extends  along  both  sides  of  the  body,  and  meets  in  the  center,  the 
case  will  terminate  fatally.  There  is  not  the  slightest  ground 
for  this  ridiculous  notion.  When  the  disease  invades  the  eye 
it  may  prove  fatal.  The  characteristic  pain  of  shingles  is  less 
in  children  than  in  adults. 

To  relieve  the  pain  it  is  desirable  to  administer  an  anodyne. 
Laudanum  may  be  given  to  an  adult  in  doses  of  twenty-five, 
thirty,  or  forty  drops  in  water,  watching  the  effect,  lest  it  pro- 
duce too  great  somnolence,  according  to  directions  previously 
given.  In  case  that  laudanum  is  obnoxious  to  the  patient, 
for  it  makes  some  persons  sick  at  the  stomach,  resort  may 
be  had  to  bromide  of  potassium,  in  doses  of  from  twenty  to 
thirty  grains  dissolved  in  water,  which,  however,  may  fail  of  the 
desired  effect.  Only  a  physician  can  properly  prescribe  in  a 
case  like  this.  It  is  often  necessary  to  give  tonics  to  sufferers 
from  shingles ;  for  they  are  often  weakly  and  need  iron,  quinine, 
maltine,  compound  syrup  of  hypophosphites,  codliver-oil,  etc. 

For  the  eruption  a  good  treatment  is  by  first  washing  the 
affected  surface  with  a  solution  of  boric  acid  and  then  applying 
a  paste  compounded  as  follows: — 

Boric  acid   •  15  grains. 

Oxide  of  zinc   30  grains. 

Powdered  starch   30  grains. 

Lanolin    -  90  grains. 

Rose-water  ointment    150  grains. 

Mix.  After  applying  the  paste,  bind  over  it  a  thick  layer  of  absorbent 
cotton. 

Another  compound  which  relieves  pain  is : — 

Hydrochlorate  of  cocaine 10  grains. 

Lime-water   3  ounces. 

Distilled  witch-hazel  water   -  .      3  ounces. 

Some  of  this  mixture  should  be  frequently  mopped  on  the  surface. 


32$  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

ERYSIPELAS. 

Erysipelas  is  an  affection  which  is  also  known  by  the  names 
of  "the  rose"  and  "St.  Anthony's  fire."  It  is  characterized  by 
fever,  inflammation  of  the  skin  and  sometimes  of  the  mucous 
membranes.  It  generally  begins  with  a  chill  and  sickness  of 
the  stomach.  Fever,  headache,  coated  tongue,  and  other  signs 
of  constitutional  disturbance  soon  follow.  Twenty-four  or 
thirty-six  hours  after  the  chill  the  eruption  appears.  The  skin 
assumes  a  peculiar  deep  red  color,  is  swollen  and  glossy,  burns, 
tingles,  and  itches.  Erysipelas  commonly  appears  upon  the  face, 
but  it  may  attack  any  region  of  the  body.  When  developed  on 
the  face,  the  features  are  all  swollen,  the  eyes  closed,  and  the 
sufferer  is  hardly  recognizable  by  his  most  intimate  friends.  The 
disease  may  attack  the  throat,  and  sometimes  first  develops  there. 
The  eruption  reaches  its  height  in  three  days.  The  fourth  day 
its  color  begins  to  fade  and  the  swelling  to  subside.  The 
sufferer  is  convalescent  the  ninth  or  tenth  day.  Erysipelas 
causes  serious  depression  of  strength  and  sometimes  occa- 
sions delirium;  cases  in  which  it  appears  being  sometimes  seri- 
ous, but  not  necessarily  fatal.  Many  complications  are  liable  to 
occur  in  cases  of  erysipelas.  Among  them  are  pleurisy,  pneu- 
monia, and  disease  of  the  heart.  Drunkards  attacked  by  ery- 
sipelas generally  die.  There  is  a  form  of  erysipelas  which  is 
almost  certain  to  be  fatal.  In  it  the  inflammation  of  the  skin 
invades  the  underlying  parts.  Matter  is  profusely  produced, 
much  tissue  destroyed,  and  the  blood  poisoned.  The  disease  is 
most  prevalent  during  spring  and  autumn,  and  most  frequent 
between  the  twentieth  and  fiftieth  years  of  age.  It  differs  from 
other  eruptive  fevers  in  the  peculiarity  that  it  predisposes  to 
other  attacks  of  the  same  affection. 

The  parasite  which  causes  the  disease  obtains  entrance  to 
the  body  through  some  break  in  the  skin,  however  slight.  The 
disease  is  feebly  contagious.  That  the  condition  of  the  system 
has  much  to  do  with  the  ability  of  the  erysipelas-germ  to  de- 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.          329 

velop  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  physicians  seldom  contract  the 
disease  from  patients.  The  most  generally  beneficial  form  of 
treatment  is  by  the  tincture  of  chloride  of  iron  in  the  dose  of 
one-half  to  one  or  even  two  teaspoonfuls  in  water  every  third 
hour.  The  iron  always  needs  to  be  well  diluted  with  water,  and 
whenever  practicable  should  be  taken  through  a  glass  tube,  so  as 
to  prevent  its  blacking  and  corroding  the  teeth.  After  each  dose 
the  teeth  may  be  cleansed  with  a  cloth  dipped  in  a  water-solution 
of  borax,  bicarbonate  of  sodium,  or  one  of  common  salt.  In  ad- 
dition to  the  iron,  three  grains  of  quinine,  thrice  a  day,  is  advan- 
tageous. If  serious  prostration  occur,  these  medicines  must  be 
supplemented  by  the  administration  of  a  stimulant,  such  as  wine, 
whiskey,  or  brandy.  Stimulants  are  imperatively  demanded  in 
these  cases  where  matter  is  freely  formed  beneath  the  skin, 
occasioning  large,  diffuse,  and  destructive  abscesses.  If  the  suf- 
ferer has  been  in  the  habit  of  using  malt  or  spirituous  liquors, 
they  should  be  systematically  administered.  When  the  fever  is 
high,  cold  compresses  upon  the  head,  or  better  still,  ice-bags 
applied  to  the  head,  face,  or  neck,  quiet  the  brain.  They  also 
have  a  good  effect  upon  the  inflammation  of  the  skin.  In  every 
case  the  bowels  should  be  kept  properly  open. 

One  of  the  external  preparations  in  most  common  use  is  the 
tincture  of  iodine  repeatedly  (three  times  a  day)  painted  upon 
the  affected  surface,  unless  it  begins  to  form  blisters.  A  good 
combination  is  the  following: — 

Creasote    2  drops. 

Carbonate  of  zinc   %  drachm. 

Bismuth  oleate    %  ounce. 

Cold  cream  %  ounce. 

Mix. 

A  good  domestic  remedy  is  lard  spread  thickly  upon  the 
parts  and  covered  with  a  layer  of  absorbent  cotton  held  in  place 
by  a  bandage. 

Many  antiseptic  substances  for  use  in  erysipelas  have  been 
of  late  years  used  by  physicians,  and  have  undoubtedly  resulted 
in  lessening  the  duration  and  the  severity  of  the  disease,  but  their 


330  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

intelligent  employment  is  possible  only  under  the  advice  and 
supervision  of  a  physician.  Equal  parts  of  carbolic  acid  and 
glycerine,  applied  every  second  hour  to  the  affected  part,  have 
proved  of  service.  An  ointment  of  corrosive  sublimate  of  the 
strength  of  two  or  three  grains  to  the  ounce  of  lard  is  good. 
A  mucilage  of  acacia,  holding  three  to  five  per  cent,  of  carbolic 
acid,  is  good.  Salicylate  of  sodium  dissolved  in  glycerine  is 
highly  recommended. 

ABSENCE   OF   PIGMENT   OF   THE  SKIN    (ALBINISM). 

The  coloring  of  the  skin  may  undergo  changes  in  quantity 
and  arrangement.  It  may  increase,  diminish,  or  be  distributed 
irregularly.  In  certain  extreme  cases  there  is  an  entire  absence 
of  pigmentary  matter  and  the  skin  is  of  a  dead  white  color,  the 
hair  is  white,  and  the  eyes  of  a  pinkish  tint.  This  condition  is 
known  as  "albinism,"  and  the  sufferers  from  it  are  known  as 
"albinos."  The  disease  may  involve  only  a  portion  of  the  skin 
of  the  body  or  it  may  be  general.  Partial  albinism  is  more  com- 
mon among  the  dark-complexioned  races  than  among  the  white 
ones,  and  is  sometimes  hereditary. 

White  spots  may  be  acquired  at  any  age  in  either  sex.  This 
form  of  the  disease  generally  attacks  persons  who,  by  original 
endowment,  had  an  abundance  of  pigmentary  matter  in  the  skin 
— dark-complexioned  whites  and  negroes.  The  spots  may  be  of 
any  size  and  adjacent  small  spots  may  coalesce  to  form  a  large 
one.  Thus  almost  the  whole  body  may  gradually  lose  its  color. 
The  hairs  on  the  spots  are  generally,  not  always,  devoid  of 
color.  Upon  the  face  the  spots  make  great  disfigurement,  addi- 
tionally because  they  are  surrounded  by  abnormally  dark  borders. 

This  alteration  in  the  natural  distribution  of  the  coloring 
matter  of  the  skin  probably  depends  upon  disturbances  of  its 
nervous  state.  The  condition  has  been  known  to  follow  an 
attack  of  influenza.  An  attack  of  epilepsy  is  recorded  in  which 
the  onset  was  preceded  by  the  appearance  of  white  spots  over  the 
whole  body.  Unfortunately  no  internal  or  external  treatment 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.          33! 

has  been  discovered  which  will  cause  the  coloring  matter  to  be 
properly  distributed.  The  best  that  can  be  done  is  to  remove, 
so  far  as  possible,  the  darkness  of  the  borders  around  the  spots, 
whose  depth  of  color  intensifies  the  appearance  of  whiteness  in 
the  spots  themselves.  Tincture  of  iodine,  carbolic  acid,  and  other 
medicaments  are  used  for  this  purpose,  but  the  most  efficient 
agent  is  galvanic  electricity. 

MOTHER'S  MARKS. 

There  are  several  conditions  included  under  the  name  of 
"mother's  marks."  The  two  most  common  are  the  mole  and 
the  claret-  or  port-wine  stain.  The  mole  does  not  always  date 
from  birth,  and  therefore,  strictly  speaking,  cannot  necessarily 
be  called  a  mother's  mark.  Nevertheless,  the  majority  of  large 
moles  do  exist  from  birth.  In  extreme  cases  they  are  so  ex- 
tensive as  to  cover  a  large  part  of  the  body.  In  color  they  range 
from  yellow  to  brown  and  even  to  black,  and  may  or  may  not 
have  a  growth  of  hair.  It  is  wonderful  that  parents  can  some- 
times allow  children  to  grow  up  without  having  moles  removed 
from  their  faces,  for  it  is  only  in  very  rare  instances  that  they 
disappear  spontaneously.  The  spot  may  be  removed  by  either  of 
four  processes;  by  the  operation  of  a  surgeon,  by  means  of  a 
ligature,  by  the  galvanic  needles,  or  by  caustic.  On  the  face 
they  are  a  great  disfigurement.  With  age  they  often  become 
pendant  and  hang  down  like  a  great  tear  of  skin.  This  kind  can 
be  removed  in  a  few  seconds  by  the  operation  of  the  galvanic 
needles.  Their  vitality  thereby  becomes  sapped,  and  in  a  few 
days  they  drop  off. 

The  port-wine  or  claret-stain  is  an  affection  more  common 
in  the  male  than  in  the  female  sex.  Galvanic  electricity  is  the 
only  application  that  can  ameliorate  this  form  of  marking  of 
the  skin.  They  may,  when  small,  be  removed  by  caustic  or  by 
surgical  interference. 


332  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

WARTS. 

Warts  may  appear  in  crops,  and  are  common  upon  the  face 
and  the  hands.  Occasionally  they  develop  beneath  the  finger- 
nail. If,  as  is  not  uncommon,  warts  appear  in  unhealthy  or  in 
scrofulous  children,  tonics  must  be  given  them.  For  internal 
administration,  thuja  occidentalis  (arbor  vita?}  is  sometimes 
given  in  fluid  extract  or  in  tincture,  ten  drops  to  a  teaspoonful 
of  water,  three  times  a  day.  This  variously  called  thuja  occi- 
dentalis, arbor  vita,  grows  in  the  north  of  the  United  States. 
Tincture  of  iodine  in  ten-drop  doses,  well  diluted  with  water  or 
glycerine,  taken  twice  a  day,  is  a  good  medicine.  Magnesia,  in 
three-  to  fifteen-grain  doses,  twice  a  day,  and  also  Epsom  salts, 
have  been  known  to  cause  warts  to  disappear. 

Direct  local  treatment  for  warts  is  more  satisfactory.  They 
may  be  cut  away  and  the  base  touched  with  lunar  caustic.  A 
thread  tied  firmly  around  the  base  of  a  wart  will  cause  it  to  die 
and  slough  away.  Galvanic  needles  will  remove  it.  Touching 
it  with  nitric  or  carbolic  acid  will  also  remove  it.  Vinegar,  boric 
acid,  salicylic  acid,  tincture  of  iron,  and  other  acid  or  caustic 
substances  will  remove  it.  Warts,  or  what  seem  to  be  warts, 
in  elderly  persons  should  be  regarded  with  suspicion  and  should 
never  be  irritated  with  picking.  A  form  of  cancer  often  begins 
with  a  small  growth  which  closely  resembles  a  wart. 

CORNS. 

Corns  are  especially  troublesome  when  occurring  on  the 
soles  of  the  feet.  There  is  a  popular  misapprehension  about  the 
constitution  of  corns  which  assumes  that  they  have  a  root.  On 
the  contrary,  they  are  simply  an  abnormal  increase  of  the  horny 
layer  of  the  skin,  brought  about  by  its  effort  to  protect  the  parts 
injured  from  pressure.  The  first  aim  in  treating  corns  is  to 
remove  their  exciting  cause,  whether  represented  by  ill-fitting  or 
by  tight  shoes.  This  alone  is  often  followed  by  the  spontaneous 
disappearance  of  the  evil.  If  not,  they  should  be  treated  with 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.  333 

perforated  pieces  of  felt  in  which  there  is  a  hole  in  the  center, 
through  which  the  corn,  protruding,  is  relieved  from  all  pres- 
sure. The  felt  appliance  may  or  may  not  be  medicated.  A  good 
lotion  is  made  by  dissolving  thirty  grains  of  salicylic  acid  in 
half  an  ounce  of  collodion.  It  is  applied  with  a  camel's  hair 
brush  twice  a  day  for  several  successive  days.  Soft  corns, 
which  come  between  the  toes,  can  be  removed  by  enclosing  them 
in  the  same  manner  as  that  above  described,  in  pieces  of  white 
kid,  by  dusting  them  with  some  bland  powder,  and  by  keeping 
a  piece  of  raw  cotton  between  the  toes. 

HORNS. 

A  very  strange  and  fortunately  uncommon  affection  of  the 
scarf-skin  is  the  growth  of  veritable  horns  from  its  surface.  In 
some  cases  they  have  attained  the  length  of  a  foot.  They  develop 
most  frequently  upon  the  head,  and  there  have  been  cases  pre- 
senting several  of  these  excrescences.  They  occur  more  frequently 
in  old  than  in  young  persons.  They  grow  slowly,  are  painless, 
and  generally  break  off  after  attaining  a  certain  size.  If  the 
whole  horn  is  then  shed  it  may  not  again  grow,  but  it  generally 
forms  again.  Sometimes,  when  that  is  the  case,  the  shedding 
takes  place  at  an  interval  of  every  six  or  twelve  months.  They 
can  be  finally  removed  by  electricity,  caustics,  or  by  surgical 
methods.  The  surgical  treatment  consists  in  taking  them  away 
with  a  part  of  the  skin  surrounding  the  base  and  then  thoroughly 
cauterizing  the  surface  left. 

PIGMENTATION. 

Darkening  of  the  skin  occurs  from  numerous  causes,  and  is 
sometimes  transient,  sometimes  permanent.  Chronic  inflamma- 
tion of  the  skin,  irritation,  and  certain  constitutional  conditions 
and  diseases  lead  to  the  deposition  in  it  of  excess  of  pigment. 
Removal  of  the  excess  of  color  depends  entirely  upon  ability  to 
remove  the  condition  that  causes  it,  and  upon  the  length  of 
time  during  which  it  has  persisted.  Perfect  cleanliness,  mas- 


334  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

sage,  and  galvanic  electricity  promote  the  health  of  the  skin,  and 
may  cause  gradual  absorption  of  its  excess  of  pigment.  The 
advice  and  supervision  of  a  surgeon  would  be  necessary  in  us- 
ing one  of  the  methods  by  which  the  scarf-skin  of  the  part  can 
be  removed. 

NERVOUS  AFFECTIONS  OF  THE   SKIN. 

The  healthy  condition  of  the  nerves  of  the  skin  can  be  dis- 
turbed by  many  causes,  some  internal,  others  external.  Sensi- 
bility in  the  skin  may  be  heightened,  lowered,  perverted,  or  lost. 
Some  diseases  of  the  brain,  spinal  cord,  or  of  the  general  ner- 
vous system  are  accompanied  by  so  great  an  exaltation  of  sensi- 
bility of  the  skin  that  its  contact  with  the  clothing,  or  even  with 
the  air,  becomes  exquisitely  painful.  Some  other  diseases  lead 
to  a  partial  or  to  a  total  abolition  of  the  skin's  sensibility  over 
certain  regions  of  the  body.  Of  course,  in  cases  like  these,  no 
household  treatment  is  practicable.  A  physician's  attendance 
is  our  only  resort. 

NEURALGIA  OF  THE  SKIN. 

Neuralgia  of  the  skin  is  manifested  by  the  sensations  of 
pricking,  burning,  or  by  shooting  pain,  which  may  be  moderate, 
severe,  transient,  intermittent,  or  constant.  Although  the  pain 
may  be  so  acute  as  to  be  unbearable  to  a  slight  touch,  hard  pres- 
sure will  often  afford  relief.  The  affection  is  more  common  in 
women  than  in  men.  It  appears  abruptly,  sometimes  vanishing  in 
the  same  way.  Instead  of  pain  the  sensation  may  be  simply  that 
of  cold  or  of  numbness. 

The  treatment  should  depend  upon  the  ascertainment  of  the 
cause  of  the  ailment.  If  the  sufferer  has  indigestion,  that  should 
be  treated.  If  the  neuralgia  is  associated  with  any  of  the  diseases 
previously  mentioned,  relief  from  the  underlying  disorder  will 
be  followed  by  disappearance  of  the  neuralgia.  If  the  cause  can- 
not be  detected,  the  neuralgia  may  be  relieved  by  the  administra- 
tion of  valerian  or  by  Dover's  powder.  Dover's  powder  con- 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.          335 

tains  one  grain  of  opium  in  ten  grains  of  the  powder  and  it  is 
upon  this  constituent  that  the  efficacy  of  the  powder  chiefly  de- 
pends. Antipyrin  has  been  recommended  for  treatment  of 
neuralgia  of  the  skin,  but  it  has  the  objectionable  quality  that  it 
may  cause  sickness  at  the  stomach,  chill,  or  weakness  of  the 
heart.  It  has  been  largely  taken  by  people  upon  their  own  pre- 
scription, but  such  a  powerful  drug  taken  by  persons  not  medi- 
cally educated  is  much  to  be  deprecated.  A  hot  water-bag  or 
a  vapor-bath  is  often  beneficial.  In  some  cases  the  applica- 
tion of  cold  water  or  an  ice-bag  is  more  efficacious.  The  pain 
may  be  alleviated  by  rubbing  the  painful  part  with  solid  menthol 
or  by  applying  from  twenty  to  thirty  grains  of  menthol  to  from 
six  to  eight  ounces  of  cologne.  An  ointment  composed  of  from 
five  to  ten  grains  of  cocaine  to  the  ounce  of  lard  is  good.  A 
blister  on  the  affected  surface  is  sometimes  beneficial.  In  certain 
cases,  galvanism  succeeds  after  every  other  mode  of  treatment 
has  been  tried  in  vain. 

SCARS. 

Scars,  of  course,  vary  in  size  according  to  the  extent  of 
the  injury  which  caused  them.  They  may  be  on  a  level  with, 
above,  or  below  the  surrounding  skin.  As  the  tendency  of  scars 
is  to  contract,  they  may  cause  intense  pain  by  pressing  upon  some 
enclosed  fiber  of  nerve.  This  is  the  explanation  of  the  cause 
of  pain  in  an  amputated  limb. 

The  surgical  and  the  electrical  are  the  only  treatments  to 
which  scars  are  amenable.  If  a  scar  be  on  the  face,  it  is  a  great 
disfigurement.  If  not  .too  large  it  can,  however,  be  entirely  re- 
moved. When  the  edges  of  the  wound  have  healed,  there  will 
be,  it  is  true,  another  scar  in  place  of  the  first,  but  it  will  be  one 
in  the  form  of  a  scarcely  perceptible  line. 

Scars  elevated  above  the  surface  of  the  skin,  more  urgently 
than  those  upon  a  level  with  it,  demand  surgical  interference. 
In  the  first  place,  a  raised  scar  is  more  unsightly  than  the  other 
kind,  and  then  it  is  more  than  the  other  liable  to  injury. 


336  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

Injury  to  a  scar  awakens  inflammation  in  it,  and  in  the  case  of 
the  aged,  tendency  to  degenerate  into  cancer.  If  it  be  not  prac- 
ticable to  remove  a  raised  scar,  it  can  sometimes  be  levelled  by 
massage  and  by  frequent  galvanization. 

ITCHING  OF  THE  SKIN. 

Excesses,  debility,  indigestion,  rheumatism,  gout,  and 
many  other  diseases  may  produce  itching  of  the  skin,  and  it  may 
also  be  produced  by  excitement.  In  the  same  kind  of  cases, 
creeping,  tingling,  and  burning  sensation,  as  well  as  itching,  are 
experienced.  In  a  recent  extreme  case,  the  patient,  who  was 
of  a  very  nervous  type,  had  blotches  that  looked  like  bruises, 
which  proved  a  disordered  condition  of  the  blood.  But  the  per- 
version of  sensibility  here  described  may  be  the  only  manifesta- 
tions of  disease  of  the  skin. 

If  the  special  cause  of  the  disease  cannot  be  discovered  by 
the  physician,  he  endeavors  to  build  up  the  general  system  by 
improving  the  tone  of  the  digestive  organs  and  correcting  the 
impurity  of  the  blood.  In  many  instances  the  administration  of 
codliver-oil  accomplishes  excellent  results.  When  the  ailment 
depends  upon  digestion,  the  diet  should  be  simple;  spirituous 
liquors,  tea,  coffee,  tobacco,  and  indigestible  foods  should  be 
avoided.  A  pleasant  journey  by  easy  stages  is  efficacious.  The 
employment  of  massage  and  galvanic  electricity  is  beneficial,  also 
Turkish  and  vapor-baths,  the  hot  and  the  cold  douche.  In  some 
cases  hot,  in  others  cold  water  proves  beneficial,  and  in  others 
again,  the  alternation  of  hot  and  cold  water. 

The  affected  surfaces  are  bathed  to  advantage  with  a  soap 
containing  five  per  cent,  of  menthol.  It  is  used  night  and  morn- 
ing, and  in  obstinate  cases  is  allowed  to  dry  upon  the  body. 
Anointing  the  skin  after  a  bath  with  olive-oil  or  with  glycerine 
will  sometimes  allay  the  itching.  Cocaine-ointment  is  also  a 
good  application.  Ointments  containing  camphor,  creasote,  car- 
bolic acid,  are  of  service.  A  dusting-powder  will  in  some  cases 
relieve  the  irritation.  For  this,  ten  parts  of  powdered  subnitrate 


DISFIGUREMENT  FROM  DISEASE,  WITH  TREATMENT.       337 

of  bismuth  to  ninety  parts  of  starch  powder  may  be  employed. 
Medicated  plasters  produce  good  results  in  some  cases.  Lime- 
water,  alone  or  mixed  with  glycerine,  lead-water  and  laudanum, 
camphorated  alcohol,  weakened  with  water  and  mixed  with 
borax  and  glycerine,  and  equal  parts  of  rose-water  and  glycerine 
are  preparations  that  may  be  employed.  This  disease  is  apt  to 
be  rebellious,  and  in  consequence  it  may  be  necessary  to  try 
one  remedy  after  another  before  the  particular  one  adapted  to 
the  case  is  found. 

BITES  AND  STINGS  OF  INSECTS. 

Spots  of  inflammation,  with  considerable  swelling  and  itch- 
ing, may  be  caused  by  numerous  kinds  of  insects.  The  effects  of 
these  are  most  severe  upon  infants,  young  children,  and  young 
women ;  in  general,  upon  those  having  thin,  delicate,  and  there- 
fore sensitive  skins.  The  most  common  insect  pest  in  this 
country  is  the  mosquito,  capable  of  producing  in  some  cases 
wheals  like  those  of  nettle-rash.  The  irritation  produced  by  the 
sting  of  the  mosquito  may  be  relieved  by  sponging  the  surface 
of  the  skin  with  peppermint-water,  ammonia-water,  spirits  of 
camphor,  or  a  solution  of  borax  and  water.  A  drachm  or  two 
of  boric  acid,  or  ten  to  fifteen  grains  of  betanaphthol,  in  four 
ounces  of  peppermint  or  camphor-water,  constitutes  a  good 
lotion. 

The  bed-bug  causes  much  irritation  to  the  delicate  skin 
of  some  persons.  Any  one  is  liable  in  traveling  or  in  other  ex- 
ceptional circumstances,  to  be  attacked  by  it.  Half  a  drachm 
of  powdered  borax  to  four  ounces  of  camphor- water ;  a  drachm 
of  boric  acid  to  a  pint  of  water;  half  a  drachm  of  carbolic  acid 
to  a  pint  of  water ;  the  benzoated  oxide  of  zinc  ointment,  either 
alone  or  combined  with  boric  acid ;  all  are  preparations  which 
may  be  used  to  advantage  in  alleviating  irritation  from  bed-bug 
bites. 

In  case  bed-bugs  invade  a  house,  as  they  sometimes  do, 

harboring  in  wall-paper  and  in  other  places,  the  paper  should 

22 


HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

be  removed  and  every  place  scoured  for  a  few  days  with  a  solu- 
tion of  corrosive  sublimate  and  water,  a  drachm  or  two  to  a 
pint  of  water.  Corrosive  sublimate  being  an  active  poison,  it 
should  be  marked  as  such  and  placed  out  of  the  way  of  children. 

Ticks  sometimes  lodge  upon  and  insert  themselves  beneath 
the  skin  of  wanderers  in  certain  woods.  Removed  by  violence, 
there  is  liability  of  inflammation  from  the  proboscis  of  the  ani- 
mal being  broken  off  in  the  skin  and  creating  inflammation. 
The  application  of  turpentine,  benzine,  or  tobacco-juice  causes 
the  large  ticks  to  release  their  hold.  There  is,  however,  a  small 
variety  of  ticks,  known  as  seed-ticks,  which  bury  themselves 
in  the  skin  in  the  most  inaccessible  place  to  be  reached  by  the 
human  hand — between  the  shoulder-blades.  To  meet  this 
double  difficulty  growing  out  of  their  insertion  in  the  skin  and 
of  the  locality  which  is  chosen  by  the  insects,  it  is  necessary  to 
strip  and  let  some  person  apply  sweet-oil  or  some  other  oily 
liquid  to  the  surface  involved.  This  procedure,  compelling  the 
insects  to  retreat  on  account  of  their  exclusion  from  air,  affords 
perfect  relief. 

There  are  numerous  other  insects  which  bite  and  cause  irri- 
tation and  inflammation  of  the  skin.  The  annoyance  can  be 
relieved  by  sponging  with  ammonia  water.  Either  a  lotion  or 
an  ointment  containing  borax  is  useful  for  the  same  purpose.  A 
raw  onion  bruised  and  applied  to  the  spot  stung  by  a  hornet 
will  sometimes  assuage  the  pain. 

CANCER. 

Cancer  is  believed  to  be  upon  the  increase.  It  is  in  some 
mysterious  way  a  product  of  civilization,  for  it  has  been  ascer- 
tained that  it  is  rare  among  savages.  Hopefulness  as  to  its 
arrest  was  never  more  prevalent  than  now,  for  institutions  di- 
rected to  searching  for  the  cause  of  the  disease,  its  ameliora- 
tion, or  its  possible  cure  begin  to  appear.  One  in  Philadelphia 
reports  that  there  are  three  phases  of  the  disease;  in  the  first 
two  of  which  there  is  reason  to  believe  it  can  be  arrested,  but 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.          339 

in  the  last  one  of  which  the  case  is  hopeless  with  the  means 
at  present  at  command.  Research,  however,  may  result  in  dis- 
covering the  cause  of  the  disease  and  lead  to  knowledge  of  how, 
in  any  phase,  it  may  be  extirpated.  In  October,  1906,  a  similar 
institution  was  opened  in  Baden,  Germany. 

If  a  cancer  of  a  certain  superficial  sort  is  surgically  removed 
before  ulceration  has  proceeded  far,  the  probability  is  that  the 
disease  will  not  return.  In  a  deeper-seated  variety  the  ulcer  is 
funnel-shaped,  it  easily  bleeds,  and  rapidly  increases  in  width 
and  depth,  occasioning  agonizing  pain,  enlargement  of  neigh- 
boring glands,  impoverishment  of  the  blood,  and  the  sufferer 
dies  of  exhaustion. 

Cancer  of  the  skin  seldom  occurs  before  middle  age,  and  it 
is  more  frequent  in  men  than  in  women.  The  face  is  its  favor- 
ite.location,  especially  the  cheeks  and  lips.  In  its  early  stages 
it  is  simply  a  disease  of  the  skin  and  the  blood  is  unaltered.  This 
is  the  point  of  time,  therefore,  at  which  the  excresence  should 
be  removed  by  the  knife  or  the  x-rays ;  as  soon,  in  fact,  as  it  can 
be  pronounced  a  cancer.  A  warty  excrescence  upon  the  lip  of 
any  person  more  than  forty  years  of  age  should  excite  suspicion. 
It  is,  anyhow,  a  serious  blemish  and  had  better  be  removed. 
There  is  reason  to  believe  than  any  long-continued  irritation  of 
the  skin,  as,  for  instance,  by  picking  at  it,  may  originate  cancer. 

The  most  rational  treatment  of  the  disease  is  early  removal 
of  the  part  where  it  has  appeared.  Cancerous  growth  may  be 
destroyed  by  caustic,  the  x-rays,  and  by  iron  at  white  heat.  The 
preferable  procedure,  however,  is  radical  removal  of  the  growth 
by  the  x-rays  or  the  knife.  A  margin  of  apparently  healthy  skin 
is  at  the  same  time  taken  away.  The  operation  may  be  so  deftly 
performed  as  to  leave  an  inconspicuously  small  scar.  The  em- 
ployment of  so-called  "cancer  salves"  is  responsible  for  much 
mischief  and  sacrifice  of  life. 

The  progress  of  cancer  may  be  retarded  by  the  restriction 
of  the  sufferer  to  the  diet  of  bread,  milk,  vegetables,  and  fruits. 
Pain  is  relieved  by  one  of  the  preparations  of  opium  given  with 


34-O  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

the  due  precaution  which  only  a  physician  is  capable  of  using. 
When  the  disease  is  superficial,  it  may  sometimes  be  cured  by 
covering  the  affected  surface  with  finely-powdered  chlorate  of 
potassium,  giving  the  remedy  internally  at  the  same  time,  in 
ten-grain  doses,  three  times  a  day.  Aristol  powder  constantly 
applied  to  the  sore  has  often  produced  good  results.  Strong  car- 
bolic acid  used  on  the  spot  or  spots,  two  or  three  times  a  week, 
may  eradicate  a  superficial  manifestation  of  the  disease. 

FRECKLES. 

This  common  blemish  is  caused  by  the  deposition  of  the 
coloring  matter  of  the  skin,  produced  in  the  highest  degree  by 
the  conjoint  influence  of  sun  and  wind.  They  may  be  removed 
by  some  mild  caustic  wash  or  ointment.  A  good  ointment  for 
the  purpose  consists  of  from  five  to  sixty  grains  of  copper  oleate 
to  the  ounce  of  lard,  or  of  lanolin  or  cold  cream.  From  two  to 
five  grains  of  corrosive  sublimate  to  the  ounce  of  water  is  a 
good  lotion.  The  following  prescriptions  can  be  recommended : — 

Corrosive  sublimate    • 10  grains. 

Tincture  of  benzoin    %  ounce. 

Glycerine 1  ounce. 

Rose-water    5  ounces. 

Mix.     Mopped  upon  the  surface  every  day. 

Lactic  acid   %  ounce. 

Glycerine %  ounce. 

Rose-water    %  ounce. 

Mix.     Mopped  upon  the  surface  every  day. 

Oxide  of  zinc 2  drachms. 

Corrosive  sublimate    3  grains. 

Distilled  water  of  witch-hazel    2  drachms. 

Glycerine 3  drachms. 

Mix.    Apply  to  the  surface  once  a  day. 

Chloride  of  ammonia   1  ounce. 

Commercially  pure  hydrochloric  acid 2  drachms. 

Glycerine 4  ounces. 

Elder- flower  water,  enough  to  make %  gallon. 

Mix.     Apply  with  a  sponge  or  piece  of  soft  linen. 

Galvanic  electricity,  applied  two  or  three  times  a  week,  often 
assists  in  the  removal  of  freckles. 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.  34! 

WENS. 

The  tumors  known  as  wens  are  common  upon  the  face  and 
scalp  and  may  occur  upon  other  parts  of  the  body.  They  arise 
from  obstruction  of  the  canals  leading  from  oil-glands  to  the 
surface  of  the  skin.  Secretion  accumulates  within  the  glands 
and  distends  them,  while  at  the  same  time  the  walls  of  the  glands 
become  thickened.  The  middle  of  the  forehead  is  a  favorite 
location  for  the  appearance  of  a  wen,  which  may  vary  from  the 
size  of  a  pea  to  that  of  an  orange.  In  most  cases  there  is  a 
single  tumor,  but  sometimes  they  are  numerous.  They  are  of  a 
soft,  semi-fluid  consistency,  according  to  the  nature  of  their  con- 
tents. They  grow  slowly,  painlessly,  and  often  remain  station- 
ary in  size  for  many  years,  the  skin  covering  them  being  per- 
fectly healthy  to  all  appearance.  They  generally  develop  in 
the  range  of  time  from  youth  to  middle  age.  The  only  sure 
method  of  removing  them  is  by  incision.  Every  part  of  the 
inside  wall  of  the  tumor  must  also  be  removed,  or  it  will  be  re- 
produced. The  resulting  scar  is  slight  and  much  less  disfigur- 
ing than  the  wen. 

EXCESSIVE    PERSPIRATION. 

The  cutaneous  disorder  of  excessive  perspiration  may  take 
place  in  limited  regions  of  the  body,  or  over  its  whole  surface. 
It  comes  from  a  disordered  condition  of  the  sweat-glands,  and 
may  accompany  consumption,  rheumatism,  pneumonia,  malaria, 
and  diseases  of  the  nervous  system,  and  may  also  depend  upon 
poverty  of  the  blood.  The  secretion  may  be  constant  or  intermit- 
tent and  may  bathe  one  side  of  the  body  while  the  opposite  side 
is  entirely  dry.  It  may  occur  periodically. 

Sometimes  the  amount  perspired  is  so  great  that  it  saturates 
the  wearing  apparel  and  bedclothes,  and  upon  the  palms  of  the 
hands  may  be  seen  to  collect  in  drops  and  trickle  from  them  in 
little  streams.  The  scarf-skin,  especially  in  the  bends  of  the 
toes,  peels  off,  leaving  a  very  sensitive  surface.  In  extreme 


342  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

cases  large  blisters  form  on  the  feet.  It  is  at  times  accom- 
panied by  tingling,  itching,  and  burning  sensations,  and  may 
lead  to  other  diseases  of  the  skin,  especially  tetter. 

In  this  disease  digestive  disorder  must  be  corrected  by  a 
simple  diet,  exercise,  and  medicines  which  promote  secretion  of 
the  digestive  fluids.  If  the  sweating  is  caused  by  disturbance 
of  the  nervous  system  it  may  be  controlled  by  the  administra- 
tion of  the  ammoniated  tincture  of  valerian  in  teaspoonful  doses, 
three  or  four  times  a  day;  by  twenty  grains  of  the  bromide 
of  potassium  in  water,  and  by  the  application  of  the  cold  douche. 
Remedies  proper  for  rheumatism  or  gout,  when  the  sweating 
is  excited  by  those  maladies,  should  be  used. 

Mild  cases  are  benefited  by  bathing  the  affected  surface  in 
water  as  hot  as  it  can  be  borne,  mustard,  vinegar,  or  camphor 
being  added  to  the  water.  Bathing  the  surface  with  sulphur,  tar, 
or  naphthol  soap  in  water  may  also  have  a  good  effect.  Boric 
acid,  corrosive  sublimate,  and  salicylic  acid  dissolved  in  water 
or  diluted  alcohol  restrain  the  secretion.  One  or  two  drachms 
of  alum  to  a  pint  of  water  or  of  alcohol  is  a  useful  wash.  Dry 
powders  dusted  upon  the  surface  are  often  effectual.  The 
oleate  of  zinc,  salicylic  acid,  and  naphthol  are  excellent  remedies. 
When  the  disorder  is  rebellious  to  treatment  and  the  feet  are 
affected,  diachylon-ointment  or  lead-ointment  is  a  good  appli- 
cation. The  ointment  is  spread  upon  soft  linen  cut  large 
enough  to  cover  the  foot,  smaller  pieces  being  placed  between 
the  toes,  the  foot  bandaged,  and  the  procedure  repeated  every 
day  for  one  or  two  weeks. 

The  same  chemicals  just  named  in  connection  with  good 
lotions  for  excessive  perspiration  may,  of  course,  be  employed 
in  the  form  of  ointments.  Aristol,  either  alone  or  mixed  with 
carbonate  of  zinc,  subnitrate  of  bismuth,  or  some  other  dry  and 
astringent  powder  is  an  excellent  application. 

A  few  formulae  for  lotions,  dusting-powders,  and  ointments 
are  here  appended : — 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.  343 

Corrosive  sublimate    20  grains. 

Distilled  water  of  witch-hazel   4  ounces. 

Cologne    4  ounces. 

Mix.     Use  as  a  lotion. 

Washed  sulphur    30  grains. 

Salicylic  acid   10  grains. 

Powdered  arrow-root   4  ounces. 

Mix.     Use  as  a  dusting  powder. 

Ergotin    •  %  drachm. 

Carbonate  of  magnesium 1  drachm. 

Hydrochlorate  of  hydrastine 10  grains. 

Cold  cream   1  ounce. 

Mix.     Spread  upon  the  affected  surface. 

Aristol   2  drachms. 

Boric  acid   2  drachms. 

Subnitrate  of  bismuth   2  drachms. 

Oleate  of  zinc •  .  2  drachms. 

Mix.     Dust  upon  the  feet. 

Powdered  alum   1  ounce. 

Powdered  orris-root    2  ounces. 

Powdered  rice    2  ounces. 

Mix.    Dust  upon  the  feet  or  other  parts. 

Salicylic  acid   2  drachms. 

Powdered  arrow-root 2  drachms. 

Subnitrate  of  bismuth   1  ounce. 

Oil  of  bergamot   5  drops. 

Oil  of  rose 2  drops. 

Mix.     Dust  upon  the  feet. 

ODOROUS  PERSPIRATION. 

Perspiration,  like  any  other  animal  or  vegetable  product, 
acquires  in  decomposing  an  offensive  odor.  In  certain  cases  the 
exudation  has  an  offensive  odor  apart  from  decomposition.  A 
peculiar  odor  is  characteristic  of  certain  races  and  of  certain 
people,  but  this  of  which  there  is  question  here  may  be  properly 
called  diseased.  Cases  there  are  where  it  is  so  pungent  and 
disagreeable  that  it  can  be  perceived  at  the  distance  of  a  couple 
of  yards.  The  malady  depends  upon  some  disorder  of  the  ner- 
vous system  and  is  most  common  in  the  feet,  which  sometimes 
become  red  and  painful. 

The  affected  parts,  wherever  they  are,  should  be  frequently 
bathed  in  water  in  which  soap  impregnated  with  naphthol,  car- 


344  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

bolic  acid,  or  eucalyptus  is  used.  Remedies  calculated  to 
strengthen  the  nervous  system  are  generally  demanded.  Boric 
acid,  salicylic  acid,  naphthol,  alum,  sulphate  of  zinc,  sulphate  of 
copper,  and  hydrastine  are  substances  which  are  especially  useful 
for  external  application  in  this  complaint,  and  may  be  used  either 
in  the  form  of  lotions  or  of  ointments.  Dusting-powders  are 
also  advantageous.  The  following  preparations  can  be  recom- 
mended : — 

Boric  acid   1  drachm. 

Rose-water    1  ounce. 

Distilled  water  of  witch-hazel   2  ounces. 

Mix.     Apply  frequently  to  the  surface. 

Powdered  alum   1  drachm. 

Subnitrate  of  bismuth 1  drachm. 

Oxide  of  zinc  ointment 1  ounce. 

Mix.    Use  upon  the  affected  parts. 

COLORED    PERSPIRATION   AND   LUMINOUS    PERSPIRATION. 

The  color  of  perspiration  is  sometimes  strangely  modified, 
and  may  appear  as  blue,  green,  red,  brown,  or  black.  Some  of 
these  appearances  may  depend  upon  the  presence  of  substances 
absorbed  by  the  blood  from  the  intestinal  canal;  the  red  color 
is  due  to  the  presence  of  a  certain  microbe.  Some  diseases  of 
the  nervous  system  may  occasion  the  escape,  through  the  sweat- 
glands,  of  a  fluid  containing  blood.  A  case  has  been  recorded 
by  Kaster,  in  which  the  body-linen  was  rendered  luminous  by 
perspiration  flowing  after  any  violent  exercise.  The  phenome- 
non is  attributed  to  the  decomposition  of  tissue  coupled  with 
the  formation  and  oxidation  of  phosphorus;  for  in  the  case  of 
persons  taking  phosphorus  internally,  other  secretions  besides 
perspiration  have  sometimes  been  noticed  as  luminous. 

SUPPRESSED    PERSPIRATION. 

In  some  cases  the  perspiration  is  either  partially  or  com- 
pletely suppressed.  The  skin,  in  consequence,  becomes  dry  and 
rough ;  pricking,  itching,  or  burning  sensations  are  often  pres- 
ent. The  affection  may  be  owing  to  disease  of  the  skin,  the 
most  notable  manifestation  of  it  being  one  in  which  the  sur- 


DISFIGUREMENT    FROM    DISEASE,    WITH    TREATMENT.          345 

face  is  covered  with  large  scales  like  those  of  a  fish.  It  may 
occur  in  connection  with  tetter  and  other  cutaneous  diseases, 
in  disorders  of  the  nervous  system,  in  consumption,  diabetes,  and 
cancer.  It  may  be  temporary  or  permanent. 

In  this  affection  great  care  must  be  taken  to  promote  the 
health  by  a  liberal  diet,  fresh  air,  exercise,  and  bathing.  Mas- 
sage, also,  as  promoting  the  functions  of  the  skin,  is  beneficial. 
The  Turkish  bath,  followed  by  massage,  is  especially  to  be 
recommended.  When  the  skin  is  dry  and  cracked,  bland  oils 
or  ointments  should  be  used  upon  it.  Cold  cream,  olive-oil,  lano- 
lin, either  alone  or  else  combined  with  a  few  drops  of  eucalyp- 
tus, are  excellent  applications.  There  are  some  medicines  which, 
taken  internally,  have  the  power  to  act  upon  the  sweat-glands. 
The  most  remarkable  of  these  drugs  is  obtained  from  the  leaves 
of  a  Brazilian  plant,  and  is  known  as  pilocarpus  or  jaborandi. 
These  leaves  may  be  made  into  a  tea,  but  the  preferable  way 
of  using  them  is  as  a  fluid  extract,  the  dose  of  which  is  from 
ten  drops  to  a  teaspoonful.  Free  perspiration,  which  continues 
for  several  hours,  is  soon  excited  by  them  and  the  ultimate 
effect  is  beneficial. 

PREMATURE  WRINKLES. 

Wrinkles  sometimes  make  their  appearance  as  early  as 
between  twenty  and  thirty  years  of  age,  and  more  commonly  in 
women  than  in  men.  Persons  of  light  complexion  and  thin, 
delicate  skins  exhibit  the  greatest  tendency  of  any  to  premature 
wrinkles.  Women  sometimes  unconsciously  acquire  the  habit 
of  moving  the  skin  of  the  forehead  into  transverse  folds,  in  the 
expression  of  surprise,  astonishment,  or  expectancy.  The  con- 
stant repetition  of  this  action  inevitably  fixes  lines  which  gradually 
deepen  into  wrinkles.  All  grimacing  is  objectionable  from  the 
social  point  of  view,  as  it  is  also  objectionable  from  the  point  of 
view  of  good  looks.  The  best  preservative  against  early  wrink- 
ling is  a  good  state  of  the  general  health.  Health  promotes  com- 
posure of  mind  and  placidity  of  expression. 


CHAPTER     XVII. 
ERUPTIVE  FEVERS. 

in  RUPTIVE  fevers  represent  an  important  class  of  diseases 
•*— '  in  which  the  different  members  of  it  are  distinguished 
from  each  other  by  characteristic  eruptions.  These  dis- 
eases occur,  for  the  most  part,  during  childhood,  and,  as  a  gen- 
eral rule,  one  attack  is  protective  of  the  system  for  life.  The  dis- 
eases are  measles,  scarlet  fever,  chicken-pox,  small-pox,  and  a 
peculiar  affection  known  as  German  measles. 

MEASLES. 

Measles  may  occur  at  any  time  of  the  year,  but  it  is  most 
prevalent  in  spring  and  autumn.  Scattered  cases  always  exist 
in  large  cities  but  the  disease  is  apt  to  sweep  epidemically 
through  a  community.  Most  persons  have  had  it  in  childhood, 
but  cases  of  it  among  adults  are  by  no  means  uncommon.  The 
disease  may  be  communicated  by  contact,  whether  directly  with 
the  sick  person  or  indirectly  with  some  object  upon  which  its 
contagious  matter  has  been  deposited ;  or  it  may  be  disseminated 
through  the  air. 

Some  ten  to  twenty  days  after  exposure  to  the  disease  its 
symptoms  make  their  appearance.  One  of  them  is  weakness  fol- 
lowed by  chilliness ;  and  this,  in  turn,  is  followed  by  sickness  at 
the  stomach,  fever,  and  headache.  The  patient  sneezes  and  has  a 
free  discharge  of  mucus  from  the  nose.  The  eyes  become  red 
and  watery,  the  face  flushed  and  swollen,  and  there  is  frequent 
and  severe  cough.  Four  to  five  days  after  the  beginning  of  the 
attack,  the  characteristic  rash  of  measles  appears,  first  upon  the 
face  and  chest,  and  then,  within  twenty-four  hours,  spreads  over 
all  parts  of  the  body,  although  the  eruption  is  generally  most 
abundant  upon  the  face.  The  rash  is  distinct  for  about  two 
days,  when  it  begins  to  subside.  The  patient  is  generally  con- 
valescent ten  or  twelve  days  after  the  beginning  of  the  attack. 

346 


ERUPTIVE    FEVERS.  347 

Measles,  when  uncomplicated,  and  of  average  severity,  is 
not  a  dangerous  disease.  It  is,  however,  liable  to  complications 
which  may  render  it  serious  and  even  fatal.  The  most  usual 
of  these  complications  arises  from  extension  of  the  inflamma- 
tion of  the  throat  and  nose  to  the  bronchial  tubes  and  lungs. 
Bronchitis  differs  much  in  severity,  dependent  upon  whether 
the  large  or  the  small  bronchial  tubes  are  affected.  Attack  of  the 
former  generally  ends  in  recovery,  whereas  that  of  the  latter  is 
frequently,  fatal.  The  presence  of  bronchitis  is  announced,  in 
addition  to  cough,  by  buzzing  and  wheezing  sounds  which  are 
very  plainly  heard  when  the  ear  is  laid  upon  the  chest  or  the 
back  of  the  sufferer. 

Inflammation  of  the  eye  or'  of  the  ear  sometimes  occurs  as  a 
complication  of  measles.  There  is  a  form  of  the  disease  known 
as  "black  measles."  In  this  the  eruption  is  abundant  and  is  of 
a  dark  red  or  purple  color,  the  fever  is  high,  the  breathing 
rapid,  the  tongue  brown  and  dry,  and  blood  is  discharged  be- 
neath the  skin  and  from  mucous  membranes.  Large  discolored 
blotches  appear  upon  the  skin,  the  whites  of  the  eyes  turn  scar- 
let, and  haemorrhages  take  place  from  the  nose,  mouth,  and 
other  cavities.  The  sufferer  is  prostrated  in  strength  and  soon 
falls  into  a  stupor  from  which  he  never  revives.  These  severe 
cases  are  comparatively  rare.  They  may,  however,  be  common 
in  certain  epidemics.  When  black  measles  prevails  as  an  epi- 
demic, ninety  per  cent,  of  the  persons  attacked  die. 

A  peculiar  relation  exists  between  measles,  scrofula,  and 
consumption.  A  child  who  was  previously,  to  all  appearance,  in 
sound  health  before  an  attack  of  measles,  may  afterward  ex- 
hibit scrofulous  symptoms  and  be  afflicted  with  sore  eyes,  run- 
ning ears,  various  rashes,  and  swelling  of  the  glands  of  the 
neck;  and  youthful  adults  after  recovery  from  measles  are  not 
infrequently  attacked  by  consumption. 

It  is  of  great  importance  to  be  able  to  recognize  early  the 
nature  of  eruptive  fevers.  The  consequence  of  mistaking  small- 
pox or  scarlatina  for  measles  might  be  not  only  prejudicial  to 


348  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

individuals,  but  also  to  whole  communities.  The  final  responsi- 
bility of  making  true  decisions  must  rest  upon  physicians; 
but  it  is  also  important  that  parents  should  know  the  main  dif- 
ferences among  the  symptoms  of  eruptive  diseases. 

In  measles  the  patient  should  be  placed  in  a  well-ventilated 
room,  and  should  be  given  a  light  but  nourishing  diet,  such  as 
milk  toast  and  soup.  Drinking  freely  of  cold  water  or  lemonade 
may  be  allowed,  for  they  not  only  assuage  the  thirst,  but  have 
a  good  influence  upon  the  secretions  of  the  body.  It  is  good 
practice,  too,  to  bathe  the  face  and  neck  with  cold  water  four 
or  five  times  a  day.  A  light  purgative  should  be  given  at  the 
onset  of  the  disease,  and  after  this  has  operated,  remedies  for 
reducing  the  fever  and  allaying  the  cough  are  in  order.  A  pre- 
scription which  will  answer  these  requirements  is  the  following: 

Syrup  of  ipecac 48  drops. 

Sweet  spirits  of  nitre  . %  ounce. 

Neutral  mixture  enough  to  make 2  ounces. 

Mix. 

Of  this  medicine  a  teaspoonful  can  be  taken  every  three 
hours.  The  dose  is  calculated  for  a  child  of  six  years  of  age. 
For  a  child  of  two  or  three  years  about  half  the  quantity  can 
be  given,  while  for  one  of  ten  or  twelve  years,  the  quantity 
may  be  increased.  If  the  child  is  very  restless,  five  grains  of  the 
bromide  of  sodium  or  potassium  may  be  advantageously  given 
with  the  above  medicine  three  or  four  times  in  the  course  of  the 
day.  When  the  eruption  begins  to  fade  and  the  fever  to  decline, 
the  use  of  the  fever  mixture  can  be  abandoned.  At  this  stage  of 
the  disease  it  is  beneficial  to  give  a  grain  or  two  of  quinine,  ac- 
cording to  the  age  of  the  child,  three  times  a  day.  As,  at  this 
period,  the  cough  is  the  most  prominent  symptom,  a  mixture  for 
it  may  be  thus  composed : — 

Chloride  of  ammonium •   48       grains. 

Tincture  of  sanguinaria  16       drops. 

Syrup  of  wild  cherry   %  ounce. 

Water    1%  ounce. 

Mix.     The  dose  is  a  teaspoonful  every  third  or  fourth  hour. 


ERUPTIVE    FEVERS.  349 

When  bronchitis  or  pneumonia  occurs  during  the  course 
of  measles,  more  energetic  measures  are  demanded.  The  suf- 
ferer should  be  enveloped  in  a  "jacket-poultice."  This  is  made 
of  flaxseed-meal,  with  which  is  mixed  mustard  in  the  propor- 
tion of  a  tablespoonful  of  mustard  to  a  half  pound  of  the  flax- 
seed-meal.  They  are  made  into  a  warm  poultice  and  spread 
upon  a  large  piece  of  soft  linen,  or  included  between  two  layers 
of  linen.  The  poultice  must  be  large  enough  to  cover  the  whole 
of  the  chest  and  the  back,  and  when  placed  in  position  it  should 
be  covered  with  a  layer  of  oiled  silk,  which  retains  the  heat  and 
moisture  of  the  poultice.  When  the  poultice  is  changed  another 
one  should  be  ready  to  take  its  place  at  once.  If  the  mustard 
burns  too  much  its  amount  may  be  reduced,  but  a  goodly  amount 
is  requisite.  The  sudden  partial  or  entire  disappearance  of  the 
rash  announces  a  dangerous  complication.  For  this  reason  the 
mustard  poultice  is  used,  to  keep,  by  its  stimulation,  the  circula- 
tion from  departing  from  the  surface  of  the  skin  and  seeking  the 
interior  of  the  body,  followed  by  the  disappearance  of  the  rash, 
which  is  popularly  known  as  "striking  in,"  and  is  a  dangerous 
condition. 

In  the  complication  of  bronchitis  with  measles,  especially 
when  the  smaller  bronchial  tubes  are  involved,  one  of  the  best 
internal  remedies  is  the  carbonate  of  ammonium.  This  salt  is 
stimulating,  aids  the  breathing,  the  action  of  the  heart,  renders 
the  bronchial  secretion  more  fluid,  and  facilitates  its  expulsion  by 
coughing.  It  may  be  compounded  as  follows: — 

Carbonate  of  ammonia  1  drachm. 

Balsam  of  Peru 2  drachms. 

Water  enough  to  make   2  ounces. 

Mix.  The  dose  for  a  child  of  six  years  is  a  teaspoonful,  to  be  repeated 
every  two  or  three  hours. 

Or  doses  of  the  following  mixture  may  be  given  at  the  same 
intervals  of  time  to  a  child  of  six  years  of  age : — 


35°  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

Carbonate  of  ammonia 1  drachm. 

Powdered  gum-Arabic    2  drachms. 

Powdered  white  sugar 2  drachms. 

Syrup  of  tolu 1  ounce. 

Water  enough  to  make 2  ounces. 

Mix.     Dose,  a  teaspoonful  every  second  or  third  hour. 

Bronchitis  of  the  fine  bronchial  tubes  requires  also  the  ad- 
ministration of  wine,  whiskey,  or  brandy,  in  amounts  suitable  to 
the  age  and  the  condition  of  the  patient.  Generally  a  half  to  a  tea- 
spoonful  of  whiskey  or  brandy  in  water  may  be  given  to  a  child 
of  four  years  of  age.  If  it  cause  flushing  of  the  face  and  rest- 
lessness, the  dose  should  be  diminished,  or  it  should  be  with- 
held until  the  excitement  has  subsided. 

Jacket-poultices  and  the  carbonate  of  ammonia  are  also  use- 
ful in  pneumonia.  There  are  two  varieties  of  pneumonia.  In 
one  of  them  the  attack  is  abrupt  and  the  bronchial  tubes  are 
comparatively  unaffected.  This  is  the  form  which  is  appro- 
priately called  "lung  fever."  In  the  other  kind  the  inflammation 
spreads  from  the  bronchial  tubes  to  the  lung-cells,  and  is  there- 
fore called  broncho-pneumonia.  This  is  the  particular  form 
which  pneumonia  assumes  when  it  complicates  with  measles. 
Broncho-pneumonia  is  relieved  by  the  same  treatment  which  has 
been  described  as  appropriate  to  bronchitis. 

Malignant,  or  so-called  "black  measles,"  demands  vigorous 
treatment.  Its  high  fever  must  be  reduced  and  extreme  pros- 
tration combated.  Cold  baths  are  the  most  efficacious  means  of 
lowering  the  body's  temperature.  The  strength  is  supported  by 
stimulants,  quinine,  camphor,  carbonate  of  ammonia,  turpentine. 
The  responsibility  for  the  treatment  of  all  varieties  of  measles 
can  be  borne  only  by  a  physician. 

SCARLET  FEVER. 

In  epidemics  the  disease  existing  varies  very  much  in 
severity.  For  many  years  the  majority  of  cases  are  mild  in  type, 
and  then  again  they  become  exceedingly  dangerous.  Scarlet 


ERUPTIVE    FEVERS.  351 

fever,  however,  is  always  to  be  dreaded,  for  the  lightest  cases 
may  be  followed  by  grave  or  even  fatal  consequences. 

The  period  in  scarlet  fever  intervening  between  contagion 
and  the  first  symptoms  of  the  disease  is  shorter  than  in  measles, 
varying  from  three  to  seven  days.  The  first  manifestation  of 
the  disease  may  be  a  chill,  vomiting,  and  sometimes  soreness 
of  the  throat.  In  very  young  or  in  very  nervous  children  the 
disease  may  be  ushered  in  with  a  convulsion.  There  are  three 
varieties  in  its  apparent  severity  in  onset  that  are  recognized 
by  physicians.  In  the  lightest  form  there  is  only  slight  sore- 
ness of  the  throat;  in  the  next  the  throat  symptoms  are  severe; 
and  in  the  next  the  symptoms  are  obviously  malignant. 

In  light  scarlet  fever  the  chill,  vomiting,  or  sore  throat  is 
succeeded  by  fever,  dry  skin,  flushed  face,  rapid  breathing,  and 
irritable  stomach.  The  tongue  in  the  middle  is  yellowish  or 
whitish  in  color,  red  on  its  edges  and  tip,  and  the  throat  un- 
naturally red,  accompanied  by  pain  in  swallowing.  The  glands 
of  the  throat  are  somewhat  swollen.  After  twenty-four  or 
thirty-six  hours,  the  rash  appears  upon  the  face,  neck,  and  upper 
part  of  the  breast  before  it  invades  other  regions.  In  exceptional 
cases  only  it  manifests  itself  first  upon  the  limbs.  This  rash, 
as  implied  by  the  name  "scarlet  fever,"  is  of  a  Jrfight  red  color. 
It  is  most  vivid  upon  the  bends  of  the  joints,  the  elbows  and 
knees. 

With  the  development  of  the  rash  the  tongue  assumes  an 
appearance  known  as  "strawberry  tongue,"  from  its  being  stud- 
ded with  small  elevations.  The  fever  begins  to  abate  after  four 
or  five  days,  and  as  it  declines  the  condition  of  the  throat  im- 
proves and  the  rash  gradually  fades.  This  period  of  subsidence 
of  these  symptoms  generally  lasts  about  three  days.  After  the 
rash  has  disappeared  the  skin  becomes  rough  and  the  scarf-skin 
is  shed  in  small  fragments  by  a  process  known  as  "peeling." 

In  the  second  variety  of  the  disease  the  fever  is  higher 
and  lasts  longer  than  in  the  first,  and  all  the  symptoms  are  more 
intense.  The  throat  is  very  red,  the  mucous  membrane  of 


352  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

it  swollen,  ulcerated  in  places,  and  perhaps  covered  with  a 
yellowish  deposit  resembling  that  formed  in  diphtheria.  The 
act  of  swallowing  is  difficult  and  painful,  the  glands  of  the 
neck  are  swollen,  hard,  and  painful.  The  fever  often  gives  rise 
to  delirium,  and  it  is  not  until  the  eighth  or  ninth  day  that  it 
begins  to  abate.  Convalescence,  in  this  variety  of  the  disease, 
is  not  established  until  the  end  of  the  second  week.  In  bad 
cases  extensive  ulceration  takes  place  within  the  mouth,  and  the 
patient  is  utterly  prostrated;  delirium,  stupor,  and  death  may 
close  the  scene  at  the  end  of  a  week  or  ten  days. 

Malignant  scarlet  fever  is  a  terrible  and  fatal  disease.  The 
fever  in  it  is  very  high,  there  are  convulsions,  or  else  a  condi- 
tion of  stupor,  the  breathing  irregular,  the  throat  swollen  and 
covered  with  membrane,  the  glands  of  the  neck  enlarged; 
haemorrhages  occur,  and  death  usually  closes  the  scene  on  the 
third  or  fourth  day.  In  this  variety  of  the  disease  the  eruption, 
instead  of  being  scarlet,  is  of  a  dark  or  a  purplish  color. 

Relapses  of  scarlet  fever  occasionally  occur  from  the  second 
to  the  seventh  day  after  recovery  from  the  first  attack,  and  the 
second  one  has  all  the  symptoms  of  the  first. 

After  severe  cases  of  scarlet  fever  the  scarf-skin  peels  off 
in  large  flakes.  Sometimes  it  is  detached  from  the  fingers  or 
the  toes  so  completely  that  it  looks  like  a  mold  of  those  mem- 
bers. An  attack  of  the  disease  may  also  be  followed  by  loss  of 
the  hair  and  nails. 

Scarlet  fever,  besides  being  a  dangerous  disease,  is  also  to 
be  dreaded  on  account  of  the  complications  to  which  it  may  give 
rise  and  the  consequences  which  may  follow  the  subsidence  of 
the  fever.  In  mild  cases  of  it  the  inflammation  of  the  throat  is 
not  great  and  soon  subsides ;  but  in  severe  ones  where  the  inflam- 
mation is  great,  it  may  spread  to  neighboring  parts.  The  glands 
of  the  neck  may  become  actively  inflamed  and  a  large  and  pain- 
ful abscess  be  produced.  The  cellular  tissue  of  the  neck  may 
become  involved,  large  and  deep  ulcers  may  form  and  may 
cause  haemorrhage  by  dividing  blood-vessels.  If  attacking  both 


ERUPTIVE    FEVERS.  353 

sides  of  the  neck,  haemorrhage,  blood-poisoning,  and  exhaustion 
may  arise,  followed  by  death. 

From  the  throat  inflammation  may  extend  to  the  ear,  of 
which  there  are  three  parts:  the  ear  external,  middle,  and  in- 
ternal. Along  a  canal  from  the  external  ear  inflammation  may 
extend  from  the  throat  to  the  middle  ear.  The  middle  ear,  the 
drum,  is  connected  with  the  upper  and  back  part  of  the  throat 
by  a  canal.  Along  this  canal  inflammation  may,  in  consequence, 
extend  from  the  throat  to  the  middle-ear.  When  this  takes  place 
in  scarlet  fever  the  canal  becomes  swollen  and  its  calibre  con- 
tracted. Matter  forms  within  the  middle,  the  drum  of  the  ear, 
and  produces  headache  and  deafness.  The  pain  is  often  severe 
and  even  agonizing.  If  a  child  is  too  young  to  explain  how  it 
suffers,  it  will  press  the  ear  involved  with  its  finger,  or  lay  its 
ear  against  the  pillow.  If  the  cause  of  the  distress  be  not  de- 
tected, the  thin  membrane  involved  bursts,  the  enclosed  matter 
escapes,  and  a  perforation  is  left  in  the  drum-head  of  the  ear, 
which  means,  as  a  finality,  more  or  less  impairment  of  hearing. 
The  drum-head  may,  indeed,  be  entirely  destroyed  and  hearing 
totally  lost  in  the  affected  ear.  In  most  cases  but  one  ear  is 
affected,  but  both  ears  may  be  involved,  and  thus  scarlet  fever 
may  be  followed  by  total  and  permanent  deafness. 

Sometimes  another  serious  complication  of  scarlet  fever  is 
diphtheria.  Malignant  scarlet  fever  has  some  resemblance  to, 
but  is  not  diphtheria.  Diphtheria  complicates  scarlet  fever  upon 
occasions.  It  is  characteristic  of  diphtheria  that  it  more  readily 
attacks  a  diseased  than  a  sound  surface.  This  is  easily  seen  in 
epidemics  of  diphtheria.  Persons  who  suffer  from  an  ordinary 
sore  throat,  from  cold  or  indigestion  are  particularly  liable  to 
contract  diphtheria.  It  is  a  disease  of  the  general  system,  and 
may  develop  in  connection  with  wounds  of  the  skin.  A  sore 
throat  that  is  ulcerated  by  scarlet  fever  affords  the  best  possible 
soil  for  its  development.  Then  there  combine,  in  that  case, 
two  serious  diseases  co-existing  in  the  same  person,  and  the  pros- 
pects become  proportionally  gloomy. 

23 


354  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

Disease  of  the  joints  is  not  an  uncommon  suite  of  scarlet 
fever.  Scarlatina-rheumatism,  as  it  is  called,  principally  attacks 
the  ankle,  wrist,  joints  of  the  fingers  and  toes,  and  may  shift 
from  one  joint  to  another.  This  variety  of  rheumatism  agrees 
with  the  typical  one,  in  respect  that  it  tends  to  cause  a  disease 
of  the  heart.  A  nervous  affection  which,  in  a  large  number  of 
cases,  is  dependent  upon  rheumatism,  is  St.  Vitus's  dance,  which 
has  been  occasionally  noted  as  following  scarlet  fever. 

Pleurisy  sometimes  follows  scarlet  fever.  Its  presence  is 
announced  by  a  rise  in  temperature,  pain  in  the  side,  especially 
upon  taking  a  long  breath,  and  by  a  dry,  hacking  cough.  Each 
lung  is  surrounded  by  a  thin,  delicate  membrane,  known  as  the 
pleura.  It  is  inflammation  of  the  pleura  that  constitutes  pleurisy. 
Soon  after  the  onset  of  the  disease,  the  limpid  fluid  contained 
within  the  pleura  becomes  enormously  increased,  distending  the 
sac  with  its  accumulation.  The  lung  is  thus  compressed  by  the 
fluid  surrounding  it,  and  the  air  may  be  completely  driven  out 
of  its  cells.  When  the  inflammation  subsides,  the  fluid  is  rapidly 
or  else  slowly  absorbed,  and  the  lung  is  again  able  to  expand 
to  its  natural  size.  There  are  two  varieties  of  pleurisy.  In  one 
of  them  the  fluid  is  of  a  watery  character,  but  in  the  other  it 
consists  of  matter.  It  is  the  latter  which  is  the  form  more  likely 
than  the  former  to  complicate  scarlet  fever.  The  symptoms  of 
the  two  forms  are  at  first  identical,  but  continued  presence  of 
matter  in  one  case  affords  the  symptoms  of  hectic  fever,  loss  of 
appetite,  and  progressive  debility. 

When  dropsy  .occurs  as  a  consequence  of  scarlet  fever,  it 
appears  when  the  scarf-skin  is  peeling.  One  of  the  commonest 
causes  of  dropsy  is  disease  of  the  kidney,  and  it  is  upon  this 
condition  that  the  dropsy  of  scarlet  fever  depends.  Mild  cases 
of  scarlet  fever  are  almost  as  likely  to  be  followed  by  kidney- 
disease  as  the  severe  cases,  and  the  actual  danger  is  perhaps 
greater  in  the  former  than  in  the  latter  instance,  for  the  reason 
that  persons  who  are  ignorant  of  the  nature  of  scarlet  fever  are 
apt  to  relax  their  vigilance  over  the  convalescent  as  soon  as  the 


ERUPTIVE    FEVERS.  355 

fever  of  the  disease  has  departed.  Cases  are  witnessed  in  which 
it  is  almost  impossible  to  keep  the  little  patient  in  bed,  so  light 
is  the  fever  and  so  exuberant  the  child.  But,  exposed  to  a 
draught,  the  case  which  begins  so  mildly  may  have  a  fatal  ter- 
mination. The  kidneys  are  often  congested  from  an  early 
period  of  the  disease;  but  if  the  child  is  well  watched  and  pro- 
tected from  draught,  they  resume  their  healthy  condition.  On 
the  other  hand,  their  congestion  may,  as  a  consequence  of  a 
single  imprudence,  be  converted  into  inflammation,  and  death 
may  ensue,  or  else  the  foundation  of  Bright's  disease  of  the 
kidneys  may  be  laid. 

Dropsy  usually  makes  its  appearance  as  a  puffiness  beneath 
the  eyelids;  the  feet  and  ankles  are  often  swollen,  and  the  legs 
become  enlarged  all  over  by  an  accumulation  of  fluid  in  their 
tissues.  One  sign  of  the  presence  of  fluid  is  the  easy  pitting  of 
the  skin  upon  pressure  by  the  tip  of  the  finger.  The  skin  has  a 
doughy  feeling,  and  the  indentations  made  by  pressure  with  the 
fingers  remain  for  some  time.  Dropsy  of  exterior  parts  is  not 
in  itself  dangerous,  it  is  only  indicative  of  serious  disease  of  the 
kidneys.  Inflammation  of  the  larynx  may  reach  such  a  point 
that,  unless  surgically  relieved,  the  patient  must  die,  for  it  may 
stop  the  breathing.  This  acute  inflammation  of  the  larynx  may 
occur  as  a  complication  of  scarlet  fever.  Dropsy  of  the  larynx, 
on  the  other  hand,  is  unaccompanied  by  inflammation.  In  it,  the 
attack  is  usually  sudden.  The  voice  may  not  be  at  first  affected. 
The  prominent  symptom  is  difficulty  in  the  act  of  taking  in  the 
breath.  The  effort  in  doing  so  produces  a  harsh  noise.  Develop- 
ment of  swelling  is  so  rapid  that  within  twenty-four  to  thirty- 
six  hours  there  is  great  embarrassment  in  breathing.  It  must 
be  obvious,  therefore,  that  dropsy  of  the  larynx  is  an  extremely 
dangerous  affection.  The  difficulty  of  breathing  is  a  conse- 
quence of  the  presence  of  the  fluid,  and  the  presence  of  the  fluid 
is  caused  by  grave  disease  of  the  kidney. 

Dropsy  of  the  heart  is  the  overwhelming  of  the  organ  by 
fluid.  The  heart,  like  the  lungs,  is  enclosed  in  a  membrane. 


356  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

When  this  is  invaded  by  dropsical  fluid,  the  heart  beats  rapidly, 
irregularly,  and  feebly,  and  the  sufferer  becomes  faint.  Blood 
coagulates  within  the  cavities  of  the  heart,  the  circulation  is 
arrested,  and  death  ensues. 

In  addition  to  the  evidence  afforded  by  the  presence  of 
dropsy,  that  the  kidneys  are  affected,  is  that  afforded  by  the 
condition  of  the  urine.  The  urine  becomes  scanty,  highly  col- 
ored, perhaps  from  admixture  with  blood,  and  of  a  dark,  red- 
dish brown.  As  the  function  of  the  kidneys  is  to  remove  from 
the  blood  waste-products  which  are  injurious  if  retained  in  the 
body,  it  is  evident  that  their  diseased  condition  seriously  im- 
pairs their  capacity  for  work.  The  sufferer  becomes  weak, 
appetite  is  lost,  the  breathing  is  embarrassed,  diarrhoea  is  fre- 
quent. If  the  function  of  the  kidneys  is  very  much  impaired  or 
abolished  entirely,  the  poison  absorbed  by  the  body  causes  the 
sufferer  to  fall  into  convulsions  or  into  profound  stupor.  Medical 
treatment  may  possibly  save,  but  in  many  instances  the  poison 
in  the  blood  is  fatal.  Within  the  brain  are  several  cavities  which, 
in  diseases  of  the  kidneys,  may  become  distended  by  an  effusion 
of  fluid.  This  causing  pressure  upon  the  nerve-centers,  the 
patient  falls  into  stupor  and  death  may  occur  within  twenty- 
four  hours.  These  conditions  may  occur  as  superinduced  by 
scarlet  fever. 

In  treating  a  child  attacked  with  scarlet  fever  the  follow- 
ing procedures  should  be  adopted : — 

The  first  essential  of  treatment  is  isolation.  The  child  must 
be  placed,  if  possible,  in  a  room  distant  from  the  rooms  occu- 
pied by  others  of  the  family,  preferably  at  the  top  of  the  house. 
If  practicable,  the  other  children  of  the  family  should  be  sent 
away,  but  not,  if  they  are  likely  to  have  already  experienced  con- 
tagion, to  any  place  where  there  are  other  children.  The  bed- 
room of  the  invalid  should  have  a  moderate  temperature  and  be 
well  ventilated.  The  room  should  be  bared  of  every  unneces- 
sary article  of  furniture,  carpets,  pictures,  curtains,  etc.  The 
physician  and  the  nurse  are  the  only  persons  who  should  be 


ERUPTIVE    FEVERS.  357 

allowed  to  enter  the  room.  It  is  a  good  practice  to  purify  the 
air  of  the  room  by  a  mixture  composed  of  one  ounce  each  of  car- 
bolic acid  and  the  oil  of  eucalyptus  to  seven  ounces  of  the  oil 
of  turpentine.  Two  tablespoonfuls  are  added  to  a  quart  of  water, 
put  in  a  flat-bottomed  vessel,  and  kept  simmering  over  a  fire. 
Another  good  disinfectant  is  composed  of  eight  ounces  of  sul- 
phate of  zinc,  one  ounce  of  carbolic  acid,  and  three  gallons  of 
water.  A  piece  of  muslin  a  foot  square,  constantly  wetted  with 
this  solution,  may  be  hung  up  in  the  sick-room  and  another  in 
the  adjoining  entry.  Articles  which  may  have  come  in  contact 
with  the  patient  should  be  either  disinfected  or  destroyed  by 
fire.  Discharges  of  any  sort  should  be  disinfected  and  immedi- 
ately removed. 

The  sudden  outbreak  of  the  rash  in  scarlet  fever  does  not 
usually  leave  the  observer  in  doubt  as  to  the  disease.  A  chill, 
or  a  convulsion,  fever,  sickness  at  the  stomach,  sore  throat,  and 
a  rapid  pulse,  aided,  perhaps  by  knowledge  that  scarlet  fever 
is  prevalent,  will  generally  result  in  a  correct  opinion  of  the  case. 
In  a  week,  or  a  week  and  a  half,  the  accompanying  fever  abates, 
and  the  question  of  proper  nourishment  for  the  convalescent  is 
not  so  difficult  as  it  is  in  fevers  of  longer  duration.  Neverthe- 
less, the  fever,  although  comparatively  short,  is  active  while 
it  lasts,  and  leaves  the  convalescent  much  exhausted,  and  it  is 
therefore  important  that  as  much  proper  nourishment  should  be 
supplied  as  the  digestion  will  permit.  Milk,  beef-juice,  light 
soup,  milk-toast  should  be  given  every  fourth  hour  during  the 
day.  Unless  the  prostration  be  extreme,  it  is  not  advisable  to 
wake  the  convalescent  for  the  purpose  of  giving  food.  The 
watchful  nurse  can  generally  find  opportunity  for  the  adminis- 
tration of  both  medicine  and  nourishment  two  or  three  times 
during  the  night. 

External  applications  of  fats  or  oils  moderate  the  heat  of  the 
fever  and  allay  the  itching  of  the  skin,  contributing  much  to  the 
comfort  of  the  sufferer.  Little  children,  after  having  once  ex- 
perienced its  pleasantness,  often  ask  to  be  greased.  At  a  later 


358  HEALTH   AND   BEAUTY. 

period,  when  the  skin  is  peeling  off,  annointing  hinders  dispersal 
of  the  scales  and  is  therefore  of  use  in  preventing  spread  of  the 
disease.  Leaf-lard,  bacon,  and  the  fat  of  ham  are  very  good 
substances  for  anointing,  and  so  is  olive-oil.  Cold  cream,  or 
simple  ointment,  which  is  lard  stiffened  with  one-fourth  port 
of  yellow  wax,  is  a  good  preparation.  Carbolic  acid,  boric  acid, 
menthol,  eucalyptus,  are  among,  the  substances  used  in  preparing 
ointments  to  diminish  the  heat  of  the  fever  and  the  itching  of  the 
skin.  The  formulae  of  some  serviceable  preparations  are  here- 
with appended: — 

Powdered  starch   1  drachm. 

Oil  of  chamomile 5  drops. 

Simple  ointment   1  ounce. 

Mix.    Spread  upon  the  skin. 

Camphor   5  grains. 

Prepared  suet 1  ounce. 

Ointment  of  rose-water   1  ounce. 

Mix.     Spread  upon  the  skin. 

Borax %  drachm. 

Powdered  starch   1  drachm. 

Lard 1  ounce. 

Mix.     Spread  upon  the  skin. 

Carbolic  acid    V^  drachm. 

Oil  of  eucalyptus %  drachm. 

Olive  oil    7  ounces. 

Mix.     Spread  upon  the  skin. 

Sulphur  is  a  valuable  medicament,  but  its  odor  may  prove  an 
objection  to  it  in  the  early  stages  of  scarlet  fever,  when  the  stom- 
ach is  irritable. 

In  mild  cases  of  scarlet  fever,  where  the  throat-symptoms 
are  not  distressing,  the  patient  may  drink  freely  of  cool  water, 
or  if  old  enough,  may  be  permitted  to  suck  little  pieces  of  ice.  If 
soreness  of  the  throat  is  a  prominent  symptom,  the  deposits  of 
membrane  there  must  be  removed  by  mopping  the  surface  with 
a  solution  of  common  salt,  borax,  chlorate  of  potassium,  or 
thymol.  Two  grains  of  corrosive  sublimate  to  the  pint  of  water 
is  an  excellent  disinfectant  when  mopped  on  the  affected  sur- 
face. Gargles  are  also  serviceable  in  removing  the  effete  mat- 


ERUPTIVE   FEVERS.  359 

ter  accumulated  in  the  throat.    Yeast  makes  a  very  good  gargle. 
A  good  one  is  compounded  as  follows : — 

Boric  acid  2  drachms. 

Borax     2  drachms. 

Chlorate  of  potash    2  drachms. 

Tincture  of  myrrh 1  ounce. 

Water 7  ounces. 

Mix.  Of  this  mixture  about  two  tablespoonfuls  may  be  added  to  a  glass 
of  water  and  used  freely  as  a  gargle. 

In  the  event  a  child  is  too  young  to  gargle  the  throat,  and  in 
the  case  of  older  children,  the  use  of  the  spray,  after  the  throat 
has  been  cleansed,  has  of  late  years  largely  superseded  that  of 
mopping.  Instruments  called  atomizers,  used  for  administering 
the  spray,  are  to  be  found  at  all  druggists'  stores. 

When  the  throat  is  covered  with  unhealthy  secretions,  .the 
following  mixture  will  prove  useful : — 

Chlorate  of  potash   2  drachms. 

Carbolic  acid    %  drachm. 

Tincture  of  iron %  ounce. 

Glycerine 1  ounce. 

Lime-water  enough  to  make %  pint. 

Mix.     Spray  into  the  throat  every  two  or  three  hours. 

One  of  the  most  cleansing  of  applications  for  the  throat  is 
peroxide  of  hydrogen  or  hydrogen  dioxide.  It  gives  pain  when 
applied  pure  to  the  mucous  membrane  or  to  the  skin,  and  for 
medicinal  purposes  is  therefore  supplied  as  dissolved  by  drug- 
gists, in  water.  In  the  diluted  form,  sprayed  into  the  throat, 
it  exercises  remarkable  cleansing  power,  dissipating  matter 
wherever  it  is  met  with.  N 

Another  efficient  cleansing  agent  is  chlorine.  Properly  di- 
luted, its  cleansing  power  is  retained.  A  preparation  contain- 
ing chlorine  is  known  as  Labarraque's  solution.  This,  properly 
weakened,  is  another  cleansing  fluid.  Chlorine-water,  suitably 
diluted,  also  makes  another.  A  teaspoonful  either  of  Labar- 
raque's solution,  or  of  chlorine  water,  diluted  with  three  or  four 
ounces  of  water,  makes  a  strong  enough  solution  for  a  spray 
for  the  throat  of  scarlet  fever  patients. 


360  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

When  the  tonsils  are  greatly  swollen  they  should  be  painted 
with  the  tincture  of  chloride  of  iron.  If  matter  appears,  it  must 
be  liberated  by  a  surgeon's  operation.  Dropsy  of  the  larynx  is  so 
serious  an  affection  that  the  promptest  surgical  treatment  is 
demanded. 

Inflammation  is  frequently  found  to  spread  between  the 
back  of  the  throat  and  the  cavity  of  the  nose.  The  nose  thus 
becomes  quite  frequently  involved  in  scarlet  fever,  producing 
a  discharge  from  it  which  makes  the  upper  lip  sore.  For  inject- 
ing into  the  interior  of  the  nose,  for  this  condition,  the  same 
solutions  as  those  used  for  the  throat  are  applicable;  but,  inas- 
much as  the  lining  of  the  nose  is  more  sensitive  than  that  of 
the  throat,  they  must  be  weaker.  A  teaspoonful  of  this  weak- 
ened mixture  should  be  injected  into  each  nostril  every  second, 
third,  or  fourth  hour,  according  to  the  gravity  of  the  case. 

Inflammation  of  the  middle  ear  is  so  painful,  and  the  pos- 
sible consequences  already  described  so  serious,  that  this  compli- 
cation demands  the  most  careful  and  competent  medical  supervi- 
sion. Warm  applications,  dry  or  moist,  relieve  pain.  A  bag 
containing  hot  table-salt  or  hot  chamomile  flowers,  or  a  light 
hop-poultice  affords  a  certain  degree  of  relief.  Filling  the  canal 
of  the  external  ear  with  warm  water,  as  hot  as  it  can  be  borne, 
to  which  a  few  drops  of  laudanum  have  been  added,  is  of  ser- 
vice is  assuaging  the  pain.  Sweet-oil  containing  a  few  drops  of 
laudanum  is  another  application  that  may  be  made  to  the  ear. 

If  these  measures  are  not  speedily  efficacious,  a  leech  applied 
behind  the  ear  will  afford  relief,  and  may  prevent  further  pro- 
gress of  the  inflammation.  If  the  disease  cannot  be  checked  by 
this  procedure,  the  ear  must  be  inspected  by  a  skilled  aurist, 
and  if  he  find  the  membrane  of  the  middle  ear  distended  by  mat- 
ter, he  will  operate  so  that  it  shall  escape.  The  sudden  deliver- 
ance from  pain  which  this  operation  effects  is  wonderful.  The 
child,  worn  out  by  suffering,  falls  into  a  gentle  sleep. 

Nothing  has  yet  been  said  about  internal  treatment  for 
scarlet  fever.  The  question  at  once  arises,  Is  there  any  medi- 
cine that  is  able  to  arrest  the  disease  after  a  child  has  been  ex- 


ERUPTIVE    FEVERS.  361 

posed  to  contagion?  The  claim  that  belladonna  has  this  power 
has  not  been  demonstrated  by  experience.  Other  drugs  have 
been  employed  with  the  design  of  neutralizing  the  disease,  but 
the  testimony  in  their  favor  is  insufficient  to  produce  confidence 
in  their  efficacy. 

Mild  cases  of  scarlet  fever  do  not  require  very  active  treat- 
ment by  medicine.  It  is  generally  advisable  to  administer  two 
or  three  doses  of  laxative  medicine  at  the  beginning  of  the  at- 
tack of  the  fever.  A  dose  of  such  medicine  may  be  given  every 
other  night.  Calcined  magnesia  and  the  solution  of  citrate  of 
magnesia  are  medicines  very  good  as  aperients.  As  a  regular 
medicine  the  most  efficient  is  the  chlorate  of  potassium,  which 
can  be  given  to  a  child  of  six  years  in  the  dose  of  three  or  four 
grains  in  water.  The  solution  may  be  prepared  according  to  the 
following  formula: — 

Chlorate  of  potash   2  drachms. 

Syrup  of  orange-flower  water 1  ounce. 

Water    3  ounces. 

Mix.    Give  a  half  to  a  teaspoonful  every  third  hour. 

When  the  irritability  of  the  stomach  has  subsided  it  is  well 
to  add  five  to  fifteen  drops  of  the  tincture  of  the  chloride  of  iron 
to  each  dose. 

The  chlorate  of  potash  is  an  excellent  remedy  for  soreness 
of  the  throat,  and  hence  its  peculiar  value  for  that  purpose 
in  scarlet  fever.  It  has  also  good  influence  upon  the  blood,  tend- 
ing to  prevent  extensive  destruction  of  its  red  corpuscles. 

When  the  fever  has  abated,  some  tonic,  such  as  the  tincture 
of  the  chloride  of  iron,  or  a  grain  of  quinine,  three  times  a  day, 
may  be  given  with  advantage. 

In  some  cases  the  bowels  become  loose  simultaneously  with 
the  onset  of  the  fever.  In  that  event  administration  of  a  laxa- 
tive would  be  prejudicial;  it  might  even  become  necessary  to 
administer  some  corrective  for  the  looseness  of  the  bowels.  For 
a  child  of  about  five  years  of  age,  a  good  corrective  is  a  dose 
of  three  drops  of  aromatic  sulphuric  acid  well  diluted  with 


362  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

water.     A  five-grain  powder  of  subnitrate  of  bismuth  every  two 
or  three  hours  is  also  generally  sufficient  to  check  the  looseness. 

The  treatment  of  more  severe  cases  of  scarlet  fever  than  the 
mild  one,  while  the  fever  is  quite  high  and  accompanied  by  much 
trouble  in  the  throat,  is  substantially  the  same  as  that  which  has 
been  already  outlined.  The  most  efficient  and  safest  manner  of 
reducing  the  temperature  of  the  fever  is  by  the  employment  of 
cold  water.  The  abstraction  of  heat  from  the  body  by  means 
of  cold  water  retards  the  consumption  of  tissue,  quiets  restless- 
ness, and  produces  amelioration  of  symptoms.  It  is  a  good 
practice  to  sponge  the  body  three  or  four  times  a  day  with  cold 
water.  In  cases  marked  by  high  fever  and  a  bad  sore  throat,  the 
application  of  cloths  wrung  out  in  cold  water,  or  even  the  appli- 
cation of  the  ice-bag  to  the  throat,  answers  the  purpose  of  allay- 
ing heat,  reducing  excitement,  and  improving  the  condition  of 
the  throat. 

It  is  also  useful  to  cover  the  head  with  the  ice-bag  filled 
about  one-third  with  cracked  ice.  Pieces  of  soft  linen,  wrung 
out  in  ice-water,  wrapped  around  the  arms,  or  laid  upon  the 
chest  and  abdomen,  are  likewise  effectual  means  of  diminishing 
temperature.  The  same  object  may  be  accomplished  by  means 
of  the  wet-pack.  The  mattress  being  protected  by  a  rubber 
cloth,  a  sheet  saturated  with  cold  water  is  drawn  under  the 
patient  and  its  sides  folded  over  the  body.  The  extreme  heat 
of  the  body  soon  warms  the  sheet  and  vaporizes  the  water, 
whereupon  the  sheet  saturated  in  cold  water  must  be  renewed. 
Among  children  the  wet-pack  possesses  the  advantage  over  the 
cold  general  bath  that  it  does  not  create  in  them  so  much  ner- 
vous excitement,  shrinking,  or  shock. 

In  the  most  severe  cases  the  poisonous  action  of  the  disease 
upon  the  brain,  spinal  cord,  and  general  nervous  system  is  so 
profound  that  the  patient  either  suffers  from  convulsions  or  lies 
in  an  apathetic  condition.  Convulsions  in  scarlet  fever  occur 
at  two  different  periods,  and  from  two  different  causes.  They 
may  usher  in  the  disease,  indicating  the  disturbance  of  the  ner- 


ERUPTIVE    FEVERS.  363 

vous  centers,  or  they  may  occur  during  the  period  of  peeling  of 
the  skin;  indicating,  at  either  time,  the  presence  of  disease 
of  the  kidneys.  The  convulsions  of  the  early  period  are  allayed 
by  those  measures  which  reduce  the  fever.  After  the  fit  is  over, 
the  application  of  the  ice-bag  to  the  head  or  of  the  wet  sheet 
to  the  body  will  prevent  its  recurrence. 

In  the  worst  cases  of  scarlet  fever,  especially  in  those  of 
the  malignant  variety,  it  is  essential  that  the  patient  be  immersed 
in  a  bath-tub.  Such  cases  show  an  extremely  high  temperature, 
and  a  fatal  result  is  immediate.  The  patient  should  be  put  in 
a  bath  of  a  temperature  of  ninety  degrees,  Fahrenheit.  This 
should  be  gradually  reduced  by  the  addition  of  cold  water  until 
the  temperature  has  fallen  to  seventy-seven  degrees.  A  medi- 
cal thermometer  should  be  placed  and  kept  in  the  patient's  mouth 
until  his  temperature  is  reduced  by  two  or  three  degrees,  when 
he  should  be  placed  in  bed.  If  the  cold  has  had  too  depressant 
an  effect,  indicated  by  shivering  or  blue  lips,  he  must  be  stimu- 
lated by  a  dose  of  whiskey  and  the  heaping'  up  of  bed-clothes 
over  him. 

Cases  which  exhibit  great  prostration,  rapid  emaciation, 
restlessness,  and  delirium,  require  the  administration  of  stimu- 
lants. These  may  be  given  in  the  form  of  an  alpoholic  liquor, 
wine,  whiskey,  brandy,  or  what  is  perhaps  better,  some  prepara- 
tion of  ammonia.  The  ammonia  and  the  alcoholic  liquor  may 
be  acceptably  combined,  as  in  the  following  composition: — 

Carbonate  of  ammonia • 1  %  drachms. 

Whiskey    2       ounces. 

Pulverized  white  sugar   %  ounce. 

Powdered  gum-Arabic    %  ounce. 

Water  enough  to  make   4       ounces. 

Mix.     Dose,  a  teaspoonful  for  a  child  six  years  of  age. 

It  may  be  better  to  omit  the  whiskey  from  the  mixture,  and 
to  increase  or  diminish  its  amount  from  observation  of  the  effect 
produced.  Alcoholic  liquors  are  very  beneficial  if  properly  used, 
but  they  may,  otherwise  treated,  prove  very  injurious.  Intoxi- 
cation has  been  occasionally  observed  in  young  children  in  con- 


364  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

sequence  of  indiscreet  administration  of  alcoholic  drinks.  Over- 
dose of  alcoholic  liquor  weakens  the  action  of  the  heart  and  occa- 
sions serious  depression.  Ammonia  has  the  advantage  over  it  of 
not  only  not  causing  depression,  but  of  stimulating  beneficially 
the  action  of  the  heart  and  the  great  blood-vessels. 

If  the  fever  of  the  disease  be  happily  over,  the  case  has  by 
no  means  ended.  The  process  of  peeling  may  extend  over  several 
weeks,  during  which  time  the  child  must  be  kept  in  the  house  at 
an  equable  temperature,  and  must  be  sedulously  protected 
against  draughts.  It  should  not  be  allowed  to  venture  out  of 
doors  until  the  healing  process  has  entirely  ceased.  If  signs  of 
ailment  should  reappear,  slight  fever,  headache,  backache, 
together  with  scanty  and  highly  colored  urine,  the  kidneys  must 
be  relieved  by  action  of  the  bowels  and  the  skin.  The  child 
should  be  put  to  bed  at  once  in  a  room  of  a  temperature  from 
seventy-two  to  seventy-five  degrees  Fahrenheit.  The  diet  should 
be  composed  of  milk,  soup,  corn-starch,  tapioca,  etc.  Render  the 
skin  active  by  giving  the  child  a  bath  of  immersion  of  a  tem- 
perature from  ninety-five  to  one  hundred  degrees,  Fahrenheit. 
In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  place  the  child  in  bed  and  cover  it  with 
warm  blankets.  Excite  perspiration  by  putting  in  the  bed  bottles 
of  hot  water,  or  the  usual  rubber  bag  filled  with  hot  water.  The 
fluid  extract  of  jaborandi,  dose  five  to  ten  drops  in  water,  in- 
duces profuse  perspiration.  This  drug  is  comparatively  ineffec- 
tive in  children  less  than  four  years  of  age.  In  older  children 
and  in  adults  it  causes  so  great  a  perspiration  as  to  drench  the 
bed-clothing.  The  dose  can  be  repeated  at  intervals  of  a  day  or 
two,  according  to  the  circumstances  of  the  case. 

It  is  not  advisable  in  affection  of  the  kidneys  following 
scarlet  fever  to  give  medicines  which  decidedly  stimulate  the 
kidneys.  Those  which  are  gentle  in  their  effect  are  of  service. 
The  acetate  and  the  bitartrate  of  potash,  or  cream-of-tartar,  may 
be  given.  To  a  child  of  six  years  of  age,  the  dose  of  the  former 
is  from  one  to  twenty  grains,  three  or  four  times  daily ;  and  of  the 
latter,  three  to  thirty  grains.  The  bowels  may  be  kept  open  by 


ERUPTIVE    FEVERS.  365 

the  administration  of  calcined  magnesia  or  of  the  citrate  of 
magnesia.  For  the  same  purpose,  five  to  ten  grains  of  the  com- 
pound powder  of  jalap  may  be  given  to  a  child  of  six  years  of  age. 

Mustard-poultices,  dry-cups,  and  leeches  are  useful  for  the 
relief  of  congestion  of  the  kidneys. 

The  convulsions  of  the  early  stage  of  scarlet  fever  may  be 
controlled  by  the  use  of  bromide  of  potash  and  chloral  hydrate, 
each  alone  or  combined.  A  prescription  in  which  they  appear  is 
as  follows: — 

Bromide  of  potash 2%  drachms. 

Chloral  hydrate  40       grains. 

Syrup  of  orange-flower  water 1  %  ounce. 

Water %  ounce. 

Mix.  A  teaspoonful  is  a  dose  for  a  child  six  years  of  age,  every  three  or 
four  hours. 

Scarlatinal  rheumatism  following  scarlet  fever  usually 
passes  off  within  a  few  days,  and  the  tenderness  of  the  joints  is 
relieved  by  swathing  them  in  soft  cotton  wool.  The  tenderness 
may  also  be  removed  by  rubbing  the  parts  with  a  liniment  thus 
composed : — 

Laudanum 2  drachms. 

Chloroform   2  drachms. 

Tincture  of  aconite  2  drachms. 

Soap-liniment  enough  to  make  4  ounces. 

Mix. 

No  prescription  beyond  the  simplest  for  treatment  by  medi- 
cines taken  by  the  mouth  for  mild  cases  of  scarlet  fever  have 
been  here  given.  In  the  treatment  of  more  severe  cases  the 
knowledge  of  a  physician  for  the  administration  of  powerful 
remedies  that  may  be  necessary  is  absolutely  indispensable.  It 
stands  to  reason  that  all  that  has  been  here  written  is  for  popu- 
lar information,  in  order  to  bring  to  the  average  household  true 
appreciation  of  the  seriousness  of  scarlet  fever  as  a  disease 
through  a  medium  of  knowledge  that  may  be  useful  upon  its  on- 
set. When  scarlet  fever  invades  a  household  the  very  best  judg- 
ment is  to  at  once  secure  a  physician.  What  has  been  here 
descanted  upon  ought  at  least  to  secure  one  point:  that  the 


366  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

physician  be  quickly  obtained,  for  after  what  has  been  said  it  is 
hardly  possible  that  any  reader  should  not  recognize  the  symp- 
toms of  the  disease,  and  perhaps  anticipate  the  coming  of  the 
doctor  by  judicious  measures  of  preparation. 

GERMAN  MEASLES. 

The  disease  of  German  measles,  known  also  as  French 
measles,  is  sometimes  puzzling,  from  the  similarity  of  its  symp- 
toms to  those  of  true  measles  and  those  of  scarlet  fever.  Ger- 
man measles,  like  true  measles,  generally  occurs  in  childhood. 
It  is  a  contagious  disease.  As  a  general  rule  one  attack  of  it 
is  protective  through  the  remainder  of  life.  It  does  not,  how- 
ever, protect  the  system  from  an  attack  of  true  measles  or  of 
scarlet  fever,  which  fact  affords  conclusive  evidence  that  it  is 
different  in  its  nature  from  those  diseases.  Indeed,  true  measles 
and  German  measles  may  prevail  almost  simultaneously,  and  a 
child  have  first  one  and  then  the  other. 

The  first  symptoms  of  German  measles  are  fever,  headache, 
and  a  sensation  of  languor.  The  fever  is  not  high,  rarely  ex- 
ceeding one  hundred  and  one  degrees  Fahrenheit  in  tempera- 
ture, and  the  headache  is  rarely  severe.  There  is  slight  redness 
and  swelling  of  the  throat,  and  the  eyes  may  be  red  and  watery. 
There  may  be  some  sickness  at  the  stomach,  but  the  patient  does 
not  often  vomit.  Not  infrequently  the  rash  is  the  first  thing 
noticed.  At  the  end  of  one  or  two  days,  but  sometimes  not  until 
the  third  day,  the  rash  develops.  As  a  general  rule  it  makes  its 
first  appearance  on  the  scalp  and  thence  rapidly  extends  to  all 
parts  of  the  body.  It  consists  of  small,  rose-colored  spots,  from 
the  size  of  a  pin's  head  to  that  of  a  small  pea,  slightly  elevated 
above  the  surface  of  the  skin.  It  reaches  its  maximum  in  about 
twenty-four  hours,  remains  without  much  change  for  a  day  or 
two,  when  it  begins  to  fade  away  and  entirely  disappears  on  the 
fifth  or  sixth  day.  There  is  no  peeling  off  of  the  scarf-skin,  but 
a  slight  discoloration  may  for  some  time  remain  on  the  skin 
where  the  spots  of  the  rash  have  been. 


ERUPTIVE    FEVERS.  367 

German  measles  may,  at  its  onset 'and  throughout  its  course, 
be  distinguished  by  its  symptoms  from  scarlet  fever.  It  lacks  the 
abrupt  invasion,  the  sickness  at  the  stomach,  the  high  fever,  and 
the  sore  throat  of  scarlet  fever.  The  rash  of  scarlet  fever  is  of  a 
bright  red  color,  occurring  in  large  patches,  which  coalesce  so  as 
to  cover  a  large  surface  of  the  body.  The  rash  of  German  measles, 
on  the  contrary,  is  in  the  form  of  small  and  generally  separate 
spots,  which,  although  neighboring  spots  may  coalesce,  never  do 
so  to  the  extent  of  covering  a  large  surface.  The  rash  of  true 
measles  consists  of  comparatively  large  pimples  of  a  crimson 
color  and  crescentic  outline,  decidedly  elevated  above  the  gen- 
eral level  of  the  skin,  presenting  a  mottled  appearance.  The 
face  is  swollen,  the  eyes  suffused  with  moisture;  there  is  dis- 
charge from  the  nose,  sneezing,  and  a  cough.  These  symptoms, 
like  those  of  a  heavy  cold,  are  entirely  absent  in  German  measles, 
and  the  eruption  does  not  appear  until  the  third  day. 

The  disease  of  German  measles  is  so  trivial  as  scarcely 
to  need  medical  treatment.  It  is  well  to  have  the  bowels  acted 
upon  by  Epsom  salts,  citrate  of  magnesia,  or  a  seidlitz  powder. 
If  there  is  enough  fever  to  make  the  patient  restless,  sweet 
spirits  of  nitre  or  neutral  mixture  may  be  given.  If  there 
is  soreness  of  the  throat  some  chlorate  of  potash  may  be  added. 
The  diet  should  be  light. 

SMALL-POX. 

The  loathsome  and  disfiguring  disease  of  small-pox  seems 
to  have  originated  in  the  East.  The  Chinese  were  familiar 
with  it  looo  B.  C,  and  it  was  also  anciently  known  in  India 
and  gradually  spread  to  Europe.  That  happened  in  compara- 
tively modern  times,  for  the  disease  was  unknown  to  the  Greeks 
and  the  Romans.  It  was  described  in  the  fifth  century  of  our 
era  by  Arabian  physicians,  and  was  brought  into  Western  Europe 
by  the  Crusaders,  whence  it  found  its  way  to  America. 

Four  distinct  varieties  of  small-pox  are  recognized  by 
physicians.  They  differ  as  to  the  abundance  of  the  eruption 


368  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

and  the  intensity  of  other  symptoms.  The  first  manifestation 
of  the  disease  appears  from  five  to  fourteen  days  after  contagion. 
A  second  attack  of  it  is  very  rare,  but  it  may  happen. 

In  the  interval  between  exposure  to  contagion  and  the  out- 
break of  the  disease,  there  are  usually  no  signs  of  impaired  health. 
Occasionally,  however,  and  especially  towards  the  end  of  this 
period,  the  approach  of  the  disease  is  foreshadowed  by  loss  of  ap- 
petite, sleeplessness,  and  languor.  The  mildest  form  of  the  dis- 
ease is  known  as  varioloid.  It  is  true  small-pox,  although  light 
in  form.  The  next  form  in  severity  is  known  as  discrete  small- 
pox, because  the  pock  eruptions  stand  well  apart  from  one 
another,  and  scattered.  The  next  variety,  growing  in  severity, 
is  known  as  confluent  small-pox.  In  this  the  eruption  is  so 
abundant  that  neighboring  pocks  coalesce.  The  last  and  severest 
type  of  the  disease  is  called,  on  account  of  its  virulence,  malig- 
nant small-pox. 

In  varioloid  the  severity  of  the  disease  is  mitigated  by  vac- 
cination, by  previous  attack  of  the  disease,  or  by  some  personal 
peculiarity  of  constitution.  It  begins  with  a  slight  chill,  fol- 
lowed by  moderate  fever.  There  is  but  little  disturbance  of  the 
stomach,  and  the  backache  is  not  severe.  The  eruption  is  gen- 
erally a  day  later  in  making  its  appearance,  coming  out  upon 
the  evening  of  the  fourth  instead  of  the  third  day.  The  pim- 
ples are  transformed  into  blisters,  and  these  become  partially  or 
wholly  filled  with  matter,  which,  however,  soon  dries  up.  There 
is  no  secondary  fever,  little  or  no  pitting,  and  convalescence  is 
generally  rapid. 

Discrete  small-pox  usually  begins  with  a  moderate  chill, 
dull  headache,  and  pain  in  the  small  of  the  back.  The  stomach 
is  irritable  and  the  patient  is  disposed  to  vomit.  The  chill  soon 
ceases,  and  is  followed  by  high  fever,  the  headache  increases, 
and  the  pain  leaves  the  back  to  center  in  the  hips  and  thighs. 
The  face  is  flushed,  the  eyes  red,  the  breathing  rapid,  the  skin 
hot  and  dry.  The  tongue  is  heavily  coated  with  a  white  fur, 
the  mouth  parched,  thirst  incessant,  and  vomiting  frequent. 
There  is  much  restlessness,  and  there  may  be  slight  delirium. 


ERUPTIVE    FEVERS.  369 

The  rash  of  discrete  small-pox  comes  out  at  the  end  of  the 
third  or  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  day.  It  first  appears  upon 
the  face  and  scalp  and  around  the  lips,  spreading  thence  to  the 
chest  and  arms,  and  successively  to  other  parts  of  the  body. 
The  eruption  is  not  confined  to  the  skin ;  it  also  attacks  the  mucous 
membrane  of  the  throat,  larynx,  and  windpipe,  and  may  even 
extend  into  the  lungs,  exciting  pneumonia.  It  is  upon  the  skin, 
however,  that  the  eruption  exhibits  its  stages  of  evolution.  As 
soon  as  the  eruption  begins  to  appear,  the  other  symptoms  of  the 
disease  ameliorate"  the  fever  declines,  the  headache  and  backache 
diminish  or  even  disappear,  the  stomach  becomes  settled,  the 
patient  is  able  to  take  nourishment,  and  indeed  feels  convales- 
cent. 

The  first  appearance  of  the  rash  is  in  the  form  of  small  red 
points.  These  rapidly  enlarge,  appearing  as  extremely  hard, 
red  pimples,  so  hard  that  they  have  been  likened  to  shot  em- 
bedded in  the  skin.  Each  pimple  stands  distinctly  apart  from 
others,  although  they  sometimes  appear  as  clusters.  They  gen- 
erally develop  within  twenty-four  hours  and  give  rise  to  itching, 
no  increase  to  their  number  following  their  appearance.  They 
slowly  grow  in  size  for  two  or  three  days  until  the  seventh  or 
eighth  day  after  the  beginning  of  the  disease.  The  water- 
blisters  into  which  they  become  transformed  have  a  dent  on  top, 
as  if  drawn  inward.  This  peculiarity  is  characteristic  of  the 
small-pox  eruption  in  the  blister  stage  of  the  disease,  and  is  not 
present  save  in  rare  cases  in  any  other  malady.  Taken  in  con- 
junction with  headache,  severe  backache,  nausea,  fever,  and  pre- 
ceding outbreak  of  pimples,  the  water-blister  dented  on  top,  one 
is  enabled  confidently  to  pronounce  the  case  to  be  one  of  small- 
pox. At  their  maturity,  the  blisters  are  of  about  the  size  of  a 
small  pea,  hemispherical  in  form,  and  their  watery  contents  are 
changed  into  matter. 

With  the  arrival  of  the  formation  of  matter  in  the  eruption, 
the  febrile  symptoms,  which  have  been  in  abeyance  for  four  or 
five  days,  return.  This  constitutes  the  symptomatic  or  second- 

24 


3/O  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

ary  fever,  and  is  higher  than  the  first.  The  rapid  breathing, 
headache,  backache,  and  vomiting  recur  in  an  intensified  degree. 
The  skin  becomes  swollen  and  the  face  disfigured  even  when  the 
eruption  is  not  profuse.  The  patient  sometimes  lies  in  an  apa- 
thetic condition,  or  may  be  delirious.  The  delirium  may  be  of 
a  wild  form,  or  may  be  of  the  mild  type  where  the  patient  con- 
tinually mutters  in  a  low  voice.  The  nose  and  throat  are  in- 
flamed, and  the  act  of  swallowing  is  painful.  Bronchitis, 
pleurisy,  or  pneumonia  sometimes  occurs  during  this  period. 
There  is  itching  in  all  stages  of  the  disease.  The  soft  white 
pimples  are  often  torn  by  scratching,  provoked  by  the  itching 
of  the  eruption,  by  pressure  of  the  bed-clothing,  or  by  spontane- 
ous rupture,  at  which  times  the  matter  oozes  out  of  them  and 
dries  in  crusts  upon  the  skin. 

About  three  days  after  the  formation  of  matter,  it  begins 
to  dry  up ;  a  dark  brown  spot  appears  in  the  center  of  each  pim- 
ple and  enlarges  until  it  forms  a  brown  scale  closely  attached 
to  the  surface  upon  which  it  rests.  This  is  known  as  the  period 
of  desiccation  (drying),  and  it  usually  begins  on  the  thirteenth 
or  fourteenth  day  of  the  attack.  The  secondary  fever  lasts  for 
three  or  four  days  and  declines  as  soon  as  the- matter  begins  to 
dry  into  crusts.  The  constitutional  symptoms  abate,  and  the 
patient  becomes  convalescent.  The  skin  heals  beneath  the  crusts ; 
but  as  a  portion  there  of  the  true  skin  has  been  destroyed,  little 
pits,  representing  permanent  scars,  remain  on  the  skin.  The  dis- 
ease lasts  about  three  weeks.  During  convalescence  the  hair  is 
often  lost  and  the  nails  are  sometimes  shed. 

CONFLUENT   SMALL-POX. 

In  the  confluent  variety  of  small-pox  the  invasion  of  the 
disease  is  quicker  than  that  just  described,  the  attack  more 
violent,  the  eruption  more  extensive,  the  remission  of  fever 
but  slight,  the  secondary  fever  more  severe  and  dangerous. 
Complications  are  also  much  more  frequently  encountered. 
The  chill  which  announces  the  disease  is  violent,  long-con- 


ERUPTIVE    FEVERS.  37! 

tinued,  and  followed  by  other  chills.  The  headache  and 
backache  are  excruciating,  the  primary  fever  is  very  high,  quite 
often  there  is  copious  bleeding  from  the  nose,  and  there  is  much 
sick  stomach.  Convulsions  may  take  the  place  of  chills.  The 
fever  is  so  violent  that  the  attack  has  sometimes  been  mistaken 
for  delirium  tremens.  Cases  are  not  uncommon  where  patients 
have  escaped  from  their  attendants  and  wandered  in  their  night- 
clothes  far  from  home  on  a  bitterly  cold  winter's  night. 

The  eruption  appears  upon  the  third  day  and  spreads  over 
the  whole  body  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours.  The  skin  is  rough 
from  innumerable  closely-set,  hard,  red  pimples ;  so  close,  in  fact, 
that  scarcely  a  trace  of  healthy  skin  can  be  discerned.  On  the 
day  succeeding  their  appearance  they  become  converted  into 
blisters  which  may  become  very  large  from  joining  with  those 
close  to  them.  The  blisters  soon  become  full  of  matter  and  the 
appearance  of  great  quantities  of  it  on  the  swollen  skin  presents 
a  terrible  appearance.  The  coalescence  of  the  blisters  upon  the 
face  and  hands  is  especially  noticeable.  The  face  is  enormously 
swollen,  repulsive  to  sight,  hardly  recognizable  by  the  most  in- 
timate acquaintance.  The  eruption  also  invades  the  mouth.  There 
unhealthy  deposits  of  yellowish  white  substance  take  place,  the 
tongue  is  swollen  and  laden  with  a  heavy  fur.  The  voice  is  lost, 
breathing  and  swallowing  are  difficult.  A  peculiarly  offensive 
and  sickening  odor  is  exhaled.  The  disease  may  become  compli- 
cated with  erysipelas,  with  the  consequence  of  much  destruction 
of  tissue.  Pocks  may  form  upon  the  eyeballs,  causing  either 
opacity  of  the  eye  or  perforation  of  the  eyeball  and  consequent 
blindness.  Bronchitis,  pleurisy,  and  pneumonia  are  of  frequent 
occurrence  in  this  form  of  small-pox.  If  recovery  eventually 
takes  place  the  patient  is  left  with  a  much-scarred  and  disfigured 
face. 

MALIGNANT  SMALL-POX. 

Still  more  violent  than  confluent  small-pox  is  the  course  of 
the  malignant  variety  of  the  disease.  The  beginning  of  it  is 
very  abrupt,  the  chill  extremely  severe,  the  fever  exceedingly 


372  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

high,  the  acts  of  breathing  rapid  and  irregular.  The  headache  and 
backache  are  excruciating  and  vomiting  is  constant.  Delirium, 
usually  followed  by  stupor,  soon  occurs.  The  eruption  appears 
upon  the  third  day,  its  pimples  being  dark  blue  or  even  black  in 
color.  The  pimples  run  together  and  form  large,  irregular 
masses.  Around  them  may  generally  be  seen  large  or  small  dis- 
colorations  of  the  skin,  indicative  of  haemorrhage  within  the 
skin.  The  face  is  immensely  swollen  and  the  whites  of  the  eye 
become  blood-red.  Haemorrhages  from  the  nose,  stomach,  and 
bowels  often  occur.  The  disease  is  usually  complicated  with 
bronchitis  or  with  pneumonia.  Death  results  within  a  week 
from  the  beginning  of  the  attack,  often  upon  the  third  or  fourth 
day,  and  not  infrequently  before  the  development  of  the  eruption. 
In  view  of  the  highly  contagious  character  of  small-pox, 
the  rapidity  of  its  spreading,  the  disfigurement  which  it  causes, 
and  its  dangerous  character,  it  is  highly  desirable  that  it  should 
be  recognized  immediately  upon  its  attack.  Prior  to  the  appear- 
ance of  the  eruption  the  symptoms  upon  which  reliance  should 
be  placed  are  pain  in  the  back,  sickness  of  the  stomach,  chill  and 
fever.  Whenever  these  symptoms  occur  during  the  presence  of 
a  small-pox  epidemic  an  inroad  of  the  disease  should  be  sus- 
pected and  the  patient  should  be  at  once  isolated.  When  the 
eruption  first  makes  its  appearance  it  is  not  easily  distinguish- 
able from  that  of  measles.  Both  kinds  of  rashes  consist  of  pim- 
ples. The  pimples  of  small-pox,  however,  are  much  harder  than 
those  of  measles.  The  pimples  of  measles,  on  the  other  hand, 
are  larger  and  crescentic  in  shape.  The  rash  of  small-pox  ap- 
pears upon  the  third,  but  that  of  measles  not  until  the  fourth 
day.  Therefore  the  symptoms  of  the  two  diseases  do  not  present 
similarity  except  to  an  inexperienced  person.  The  watery  eye, 
the  sneezing,  the  discharge  from  the  nose,  the  coughing  of 
measles  are  absent  in  small-pox.  The  excessive  pain  in  the  back, 
the  vomiting,  the  severe  chill,  the  high  fever  of  small-pox  do  not 
occur  in  measles.  The  rash  of  measles  consists  solely  of  pimples, 
but  in  small-pox  the  hard  pimples  are  converted  into  water- 


ERUPTIVE    FEVERS.  373 

blisters,  and  these,  in  turn,  become  filled  with  matter.  The  fever 
of  measles  is  not  very  high,  but  increases  rapidly  a  few  hours  be- 
fore the  eruption  begins,  whereas  in  small-pox  the  high  fever 
of  the  first  few  days  subsides  with  the  development  of  the  erup- 
tion. When  the  rash  of  small-pox  is  in  its  water-blister  stage, 
it  resembles  that  of  chicken-pox.  The  blisters  of  chicken-pox, 
however,  never  become  filled  with  matter,  but  come  out  upon  the 
second  day,  and  seldom  occur  upon  the  face.  Chicken-pox  is  a 
very  mild  affection,  but  small-pox  is  a  severe  disease. 

In  most  cases  there  can  scarcely  be  any  difficulty  in  distin- 
guishing scarlet  fever  from  small-pox.  The  eruption  of  scarlet 
fever,  although  accompanied  by  a  slight  roughness  of  the  skin, 
is  not  elevated  above  the  surface.  It  occurs  in  the  form  of  bright 
red  patches.  A  mistake  might  occur  only  in  the  presence  of 
a  malignant  case.  The  constitutional  symptoms  are  similar  in 
both  diseases — high  fever,  prostration,  delirium,  stupor,  and 
haemorrhages.  The  likeness  is  heightened  by  the  fact  that  in 
malignant  small-pox  a  red  rash  comes  out  upon  the  skin  dur- 
ing the  first  day  or  two,  before  the  appearance  of  its  characteris- 
tic eruption.  This  red  rash  resembles  that  of  scarlatina,  inas- 
much as  it  is  not  raised  above  the  surface  of  the  skin.  It  differs, 
however,  from  the  other,  in  being  less  diffuse  and  more  irregular 
in  its  development.  Doubt  is  at  once  set  at  rest  by  the  speedy 
occurrence  of  the  characteristic  eruption  of  small-pox. 

Malignant  small-pox  and  malignant  measles  may  be  con- 
founded prior  to  the  appearance  in  small-pox  of  blisters  and  sup- 
puration. In  both  diseases  the  eruption  is  of  pimples;  in  both 
the  fever  is  high,  prostration  great;  and  in  both  haemorrhages, 
delirium  and  stupor  occur.  The  intense  backache  with  which 
small-pox  begins,  and  the  severe  cough  of  measles,  are  symptoms 
which  should  aid  in  the  formation  of  an  opinion  as  to  the  dis- 
ease with  which  we  are  dealing.  In  the  malignant  varieties  of 
measles,  scarlet  fever,  and  small  pox,  the  system  of  the  patient 
may  be  overwhelmed  and  death  occur  before  the  appearance  of 
the  rash.  The  knowledge  of  the  prevalence  of  a  certain  epi- 


374  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

demic  is  a  guide  in  diagnosing  these  diseases.  The  skill  of  the 
physician,  however,  is  indispensable  to  making  a  certainty  of  the 
conclusion  to  be  reached. 

For  the  treatment  of  small-pox  the  patient  must,  in  the  first 
place,  be  strictly  isolated.  The  sick-room  should  be  as  large  as 
possible,  thoroughly  well-ventilated  and  kept  at  a  temperature  of 
sixty-five  to  seventy  degrees,  Fahrenheit.  Sunlight  should  be 
excluded,  because  it  favors  the  pitting  from  the  eruption.  The 
patient  should  be  as  well  nourished  as  is  possible,  despite  the 
sickness  of  stomach,  which  is  marked  in  the  early  stage  of  the 
disease  and  at  the  beginning  of  that  of  suppuration.  Beef-juice, 
animal-broths,  soups,  eggs,  milk,  milk-toast,  oysters,  may  be 
given  at  different  times  so  as  to  avoid  sameness  of  diet.  Lemon- 
ade is  useful  for  allaying  thirst,  and  will  sometimes  check  nau- 
sea. Ice-water  and  cracked  ice  moderate  the  inflammation  of 
the  throat.  If  gargles  can  be  used,  they  are  of  service.  If  not, 
the  throat  can  be  cleansed  and  its  soreness  relieved  by  mopping 
the  surface  from  time  to  time  or  by  application  of  a  spray.  The 
chlorate  of  potash,  ten  grains  to  the  ounce  of  water,  constitutes  a 
good  gargle.  The  tincture  of  myrrh  and  the  compound  tincture 
of  cinchona  bark,  properly  diluted  with  water,  are  also  service- 
able. 

At  the  onset  of  the  disease  it  is  well  to  have  the  bowels  well 
opened  by  means  of  citrate  of  magnesia,  Rochelle  salts,  or  some 
other  efficient  purgative.  Frequent  spraying  of  the  face  with 
cold  water  is  of  service.  Alcohol  or  spirits  of  camphor  may 
be  advantageously  added  to  the  water.  The  pain  in  the  back 
may  be  relieved  by  the  usual  rubber  hot-water  bag.  Fever  is 
reduced  by  sweet  spirits  of  nitre  and  neutral  mixture,  together 
with  more  powerful  remedies  in  grave  cases.  If  there  is  much 
nervous  excitability,  restlessness,  or  delirium,  a  dose  of  bromide 
of  potash  or  of  chloral  hydrate  may  be  given  with  the  fever 
mixture.  The  dose  of  bromide  of  potash  for  an  adult  is  twenty 
to  thirty  grains,  and  that  of  chloral  hydrate,  ten  grains.  Some- 
times a  dose  of  Dover's  powder  (ten  grains)  has  a  better  effect. 


ERUPTIVE    FEVERS.  375 

If  bronchitis  develops  it  may  be  checked  by  the  use  of  a  mixture 
thus  composed:  — 

Tincture  of  red  pepper 32  drops. 

Tincture  of  sanguinaria 3  drachms. 

Syrup  of  squills 5  drachms. 

Water  enough  to  make   4  ounces. 

Mix.  The  dose  for  an  adult  is  a  teaspoonful  in  a  wineglassful  of  water 
every  second  or  third  hour. 

During  the  secondary  fever  of  the  disease  it  is  necessary  to 
give,  in  addition  to  whatever  fever  mixture  is  used,  thirty  drops 
of  the  tincture  of  the  chloride  of  iron  in  a  wineglassful  of  water, 
four  times  a  day,  and  two  or  three  grains  of  quinine  at  the  same 
time.  Alcoholic  stimulants,  also,  are  needed  at  this  period,  par- 
ticularly in  confluent  small-pox. 

A  very  important  feature  of  treatment  relates  to  the  erup- 
tion. The  less  the  suppuration,  the  less  scarring  will  be  left  upon 
recovery.  Something  can  be  done  by  the  exclusion  of  light,  and 
it  is  probable  that  some  of  the  measures  adopted  largely  owe 
whatever  success  they  achieve  to  protecting  the  surface  from  the 
influence  of  light.  Those  parts  of  the  body  which  are  covered 
are  never  so  much  pitted  as  those  which  are  exposed.  A  favorite 
way  with  some  physicians  to  make  the  application  for  shielding 
the  parts  from  light  is  to  have  a  mask  made,  fitting  the  face, 
leaving  openings  for  the  eyes,  nose,  and  mouth.  Upon  the 
under  surface  of  the  mask  is  spread  mercurial  ointment  stiffened 
with  arrow-root,  in  the  proportion  of  an  ounce  of  the  former  to 
a  drachm  of  the  latter.  Instead  of  this  ointment,  mercurial 
plaster  or  sulphur  ointment  may  be  applied  in  the  same  manner. 
Tincture  of  iodine  painted  on  the  pimples  is  a  good  application. 
Ten  grains  to  a  half  a  drachm  of  corrosive  sublimate  dissolved  in 
an  ounce  of  glycerine  and  rubbed  on  the  face  with  a  pledget  of 
raw  cotton  lessens  the  inflammation  and  the  chance  of  disfigure- 
ment. Another  preparation  which  may  be  used  consists  of  five 
parts  of  carbolic  acid,  forty  parts  of  olive-oil,  and  sixty  parts  of 
precipitated  chalk.  A  paste  composed  of  three  per  cent,  of  car- 
bolic or  salicylic  acid,  made  up  with  starch  or  oil  of  sweet 


HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

almonds,  has  been  used  with  favorable  results  for  treating  the 
mask.  Lotions  or  baths  containing  boric  acid  are  beneficial. 

The  eyes  should  be  carefully  watched.  The  matter  should 
be  kept  washed  away  from  them  by  a  solution  of  boric  acid  con- 
taining ten  grains  to  the  ounce  of  water.  If  little  ulcers  form 
upon  the  eyeball  they  must  be  carefully  cauterized  by  a  surgeon. 
When  the  fever  is  very  high  and  the  patient  very  restless  the  use 
of  ice-bags  on  the  head  and  chest  or  the  bath  of  immersion,  grad- 
ually cooled,  is  beneficial.  During  the  stage  of  suppuration  in 
the  confluent  form  of  the  disease  the  patient  is  much  benefited 
by  being  placed  in  a  moderately  warm  bath.  The  matter  is 
washed  away  and  the  danger  of  blood-poisoning  is  diminished. 

Malignant  small-pox  is  a  disease  so  violent  and  fatal  that 
the  most  powerful  stimulant  remedies  are  indicated  for  its 
treatment.  The  disease  needs  the  most  careful  and  enlightened 
medical  supervision. 

Varioloid  does  not  need  much  medical  treatment.  The 
citrate  of  magnesia  or  Rochelle  salts  at  the  beginning,  some  sweet 
spirits  of  nitre  while  the  fever  lasts,  and  some  iron  after  the  dis- 
ease is  well  developed,  will  generally  prove  sufficient. 

In  every  case  of  small-pox  all  the  discharges  should  be  dis- 
infected. Bed-clothes  and  wearing  apparel  must  be  disinfected 
or,  wherever  possible,  destroyed.  The  scales  that  fall  should  be 
burned.  After  the  patient  has  entirely  recovered  the  room 
should  be  disinfected  by  burning  sulphur  in  it,  after  which  it 
should  be  thoroughly  ventilated  by  throwing  wide  open  all  its 
windows.  The  best  agent,  however,  for  disinfecting,  is  for- 
maldehyde. 

VACCINATION. 

Fortunately  there  is  possessed  in  vaccination  a  very  simple 
safeguard  against  small-pox.  Immunity  from  small-pox, 
through  one  vaccination,  is  not  always  permanent.  The  opera- 
tion needs,  as  a  precautionary  measure,  to  be  repeated  at  certain 
intervals.  Children  should  be  vaccinated  within  six  months  after 


ERUPTIVE    FEVERS.  377 

birth,  and  the  operation  should  be  repeated  about  the  eighth  and 
fifteenth  years  of  age.  If  the  vaccine  virus  takes  on  each  occa- 
sion, life-long  immunity  from  small-pox  is  generally  conferred. 
Not  infrequently  even  the  first  vaccination  protects  for  life.  It 
is  prudent,  however,  to  be  vaccinated  when  small-pox  becomes 
epidemic,  if  previous  re  vaccinations  have  failed  to  take.  The 
value  of  vaccination  is  incontestible.  It  is  proved  by  abundance 
of  trustworthy  statistics.  Epidemics  of  small-pox  are  by  no 
means  so  common  or  so  destructive  now  as  they  were  before 
the  discovery  of  vaccination  by  Dr.  Jenner. 

In  order  to  be  esteemed  truly  successful,  vaccination  must 
run  a  typical  course.  It  is  not  enough  merely  to  cause  a  sore 
arm.  A  good  deal  of  inflammation  may  follow  the  operation 
and  yet  the  result  prove  entirely  abortive.  The  true  appearance 
of  successful  vaccination  is  the  coming,  three  or  four  days  after 
the  operation,  of  a  hard,  red  pimple.  This  enlarges,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  second  day  it  is  transformed  into  a  water-blister  sur- 
rounded by  a  red  zone  of  skin.  Three  days  after  the  coming 
of  the  water-blisters,  they  become  filled  with  matter  instead  of 
water.  Two  days  subsequently  to  this  the  vaccination  has 
reached  its  highest  development.  The  zone  of  redness  around 
the  eruption  begins  to  fade,  a  brown  spot  appears  on  the  point, 
the  contents  dry  up,  a  mahogany-colored  scab  is  completed  upon 
the  fourteenth  or  sixteenth  day  after  the  operation.  Healing 
having  gone  on  below  the  scab,  it  detaches  itself  about  the  twenty- 
first  or  the  twenty-third  day.  This  leaves  a  round,  depressed, 
and  pinkish  scar,  which  gradually  becomes  whiter  than  the  sur- 
rounding skin,  and  generally  lasts  for  life.  This  is  the  typical 
course  of  successful  vaccination.  During  its  continuance,  some 
fever,  headache,  and  restlessness  may  occur,  especially  in  the 
case  of  infants,  and  the  glands  of  the  armpit  may  become  swol- 
len and  painful.  Occasionally,  also,  a  red  rash  appears  over  the 
whole  body.  But  these  symptoms  generally  last  only  for  a  few 
days. 


3/8  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

CHICKEN-POX. 

Chicken-pox  is  a  mild,  contagious  disease,  attended  with 
some  fever  and  a  general  eruption.  It  is  a  disease  confined  almost 
wholly  to  young  children,  and  is  seldom  seen  after  their  tenth 
year.  The  rash  appears  after  a  fever  of  twenty-four  to  thirty- 
six  hours  duration.  The  fever  is  so  slight,  however,  and  so  free 
from  other  constitutional  symptoms,  that  the  appearance  of  the 
rash  is  the  first  thing  to  call  attention  to  the  attack.  Sometimes 
there  are  headache  and  restlessness.  The  eruption  comes  out 
first  upon  the  breast  and  abdomen,  and  soon  spreads  to  the 
upper  and  lower  limbs.  The  rash  occasionally  attacks  the  fore- 
head, scalp,  and  neck,  but  is  not  often  seen  upon  the  lower  part  of 
the  face.  It  is  in  the  form  of  small  blisters  and  they  sometimes 
appear  upon  the  eye  and  invade  the  mouth. 

The  eruption  of  chicken-pox  is  fully  developed  upon  the 
second  day,  and  upon  the  third  day  it  begins  to  dry  up  into 
little  brown  or  yellowish  crusts  which,  in  the  course  of  two  or 
three  days,  loosen  and  fall  off.  A  little  scar  is  left  in  the  places 
where  the  scabs  fall  off,  but  they  generally  become  obliterated ; 
only  in  rare  cases  do  a  few  marks  of  chicken-pox  remain  per- 
manently. 

Chicken-pox  is  an  insignificent  disease.  The  chief  medical 
interest  in  it  consists  in  differentiating  its  symptoms  from  those 
of  measles  and  small-pox,  especially  from  small-pox.  The  dif- 
ference becomes  of  special  value  when  both  small-pox  and 
chicken-pox  are  simultaneously  epidemic  in  a  community.  The 
severe  symptoms  of  small-pox  will,  however,  in  a  vast  majority 
of  cases,  mark  it  as  present,  and  not  chicken-pox. 

There  may  sometimes  be  some  difficulty  in  distinguishing 
between  varioloid  and  chicken-pox  in  a  child.  The  eruption  of 
varioloid,  however,  does  not  appear  until  the  third  or  fourth 
day.  It  occurs  first  in  the  form  of  pimples,  which  subsequently 
become  filled  with  water  and  afterwards  with  matter.  It  is 
only  in  the  watery  stage  that  there  ought  to  be  any  possibility 
of  confounding  the  two  maladies,  because  the  blisters  of  vario- 


ERUPTIVE    FEVERS.  379 

loid  are  generally,  whereas  those  of  chicken-pox  are  seldom,  what 
is  medically  known  as  umbilicated — that  is,  dented  on  top.  The 
eruption  of  chicken-pox  appears  from  twenty-four  to  thirty-six 
hours  after  the  attack  of  the  disease,  instead  of  four  days  after- 
wards, as  is  the  case  of  varioloid.  It  comes  so  soon  that  it  is, 
as  already  mentioned,  the  first  symptom  noticed.  Little  or  no 
medical  treatment  is  needed  in  chicken-pox.  If  there  are  head- 
ache, restlessness,  and  fever,  a  laxative  may  be  given,  together 
with  some  sweet  spirits  of  nitre,  and  perhaps  some  bromide  of 
potash.  The  child  attacked  should  be  given  a  light  diet  and  be 
kept  in  the  house. 


CHAPTER     XVIII. 
THE  HAIR,  ITS  FASHIONS  AND  ITS  DISEASES. 

A  MONO  the  Greeks  it  appears  to  have  been  the  custom  to  pre- 
•**  serve  unshorn  during  life  a  lock  of  the  hair  dedicated  to 
the  gods.  Proserpine,  the  wife  of  Pluto,  the  god  of  the 
infernal  regions,  was  believed,  upon  the  approach  of  the  death 
of  a  human  being,  to  cut  off  this  lock.  When  a  Greek  died  a 
lock  was  cut  from  his  hair  and  placed  outside  of  the  door  of  the 
house  of  the  deceased,  to  indicate  death  within.  Virgil,  in  de- 
scribing the  death  of  Dido,  tells  that  Iris,  the  messenger  of  the 
gods,  appeared,  and  referring  to  the  sacred  lock  of  Dido's  hair, 
said :  "This  lock  I,  as  commanded,  bear  away  sacred  to  Pluto." 
In  Thibet  the  priest  is  called  in  to  cut  hair  from  the  heads  of 
the  dying  in  order  that  their  souls  may  placidly  depart  through 
the  top  of  the  head. 

The  races  possessing  luxuriant  hair  have  always  highly 
esteemed  it  as  an  adornment  lending  importance  and  dignity  to 
the  person.  The  hair  of  the  head  and  of  the  beard  has  often 
been  associated  with  religious  rites.  The  ancient  Hebrews  re- 
garded shaving  as  indicative  of  shame  or  affliction,  and,  in  pre- 
dicting the  desolation  of  Moab,  the  prophets  Isaiah  and  Jere- 
miah declared  that  "every  head  shall  be  bald  and  every  beard 
clipped."  Tradition  taught  that  Adam  was  created  with  a 
beard,  and  this  growth  became  among  the  Jews  one  of  the 
marks  of  their  faith.  They  regarded  a  rude  touch  of  the  beard 
as  a  great  personal  indignity.  It  was  allowed  only  to  children 
and  near  relatives  to  touch  the  beard  lovingly,  and  raising  the 
hands  reverentially  to  the  beard  was  the  sign  of  seeking  hospitality. 
This  sentiment  for  the  beard  has  been  shared  by  the  Moham- 
medans, whose  prophet,  Mohammed,  never  suffered  his  beard  to 
be  touched  with  the  razor.  The  Arabs  look  with  abhorrence  upon 
a  bald  head,  and  conclude  their  solemn  oaths  with  the  words: 
380 


THE   HAIR,    ITS   FASHIONS   AND   ITS   DISEASES.  381 

"If  I  have  done  it,  then  may  the  Lord  turn  my  locks  into  a 
bald  head."  In  Babylon,  Assyria,  and  Persia,  the  beard  was 
held  in  high  honor.  The  priests  of  Nineveh  wore  long  beards, 
elaborately  curled  and  oiled.  The  Persian  kings  had  their 
beards  plaited  and  tied  with  strands  of  golden  thread.  Among 
the  Greeks  the  beard  was  generally  worn  until  Alexander  the 
Great,  having  conquered  them,  ordered  its  discontinuance,  find- 
ing that  its  presence  gave  great  advantage  to  an  enemy  in  a 
hand-to-hand  conflict.  The  Romans,  until  290  B.  C,  allowed 
both  hair  and  beard  to  grow  long.  From  that  time  until  the 
reign  of  Hadrian,  A.  D.  117,  the  Romans  wore  hair  and  beard 
short.  They  afterwards  wore  the  beard  long  until  the  decline 
of  the  Roman  Empire.  How  the  beard  was  regarded  by  the 
ancient  Romans  we  learn  from  Livy's  vivid  description  of  the 
scene  when  Rome  was  captured  by  the  Gauls,  who,  entering  the 
Senate  chamber,  and  amazed  at  the  sight  of  that  dignified  body 
sitting  imperturably  in  their  curule  chairs,  were  at  first  awed, 
when  one  of  them,  recovering,  had  the  hardihood  to  stroke  a 
Senator's  beard,  and  was  thereupon  knocked  down  by  the  ivory 
staff  which  the  Senator  held  as  one  of  the  insignia  of  his  office. 
Then  the  Senators  were  massacred  to  a  man. 

Races  characterized  in  the  male  sex  by  a  sparse  growth  of 
hair  upon  the  face  are  given  to  removing  the  appendage,  which, 
in  their  case,  is  certainly  not  ornamental.  The  North  American 
Indians  were  always  careful  to  pluck  out  their  scanty  growth 
of  beard.  The  ancient  Egyptians  universally  practiced  shaving, 
and  according  to  Wilkinson,  whenever,  as  he  says,  they  "in- 
tended to  convey  the  idea  of  a  man  of  low  condition,  or  a 
slovenly  person,  the  artists  represented  him  with  a  beard.  They 
did  not,  however,  despise  it  as  a  mark  of  manhood,  as  on  cer- 
tain festivals  they  assumed  false  beards,  and  their  male  deities 
were  represented  as  bearded.  As  a  sign  of  mourning  they  al- 
lowed the  beard  to  grow." 

The  belief  that  abundance  of  hair,  especially  on  the  body, 
is  indicative  of  great  strength  has  survived  to  the  present  day. 


382  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

This  belief,  in  Christian  communities,  may  have  originated  from 
the  history  of  Samson.  He  said  to  Delilah:  "If  I  be  shaven, 
then  my  strength  will  go  from  me,  and  I  shall  become  weak  and 
be  like  any  other  man."  When  he  was  despoiled  by  Delilah  of 
the  "seven  locks  of  his  head,"  captured,  and  blinded,  he  had  to 
wait  until  his  hair  grew  again  before  he  was  able  to  pull  down 
the  pillars  of  the  temple  in  which  the  multitude  was  assembled. 
The  ancient  Germans  allowed  the  hair  to  grow  very  long, 
and  according  to  the  historian  Tacitus,  so  kept  it  during  old  age. 
One  of  the  mediaeval  emperors  of  Germany,  Frederick  I,  was 
surnamed  Barbarossa  on  account  of  his  having  a  red  beard. 
There  have  been,  in  both  ancient  and  modern  times,  great  fluctu- 
ations in  the  fashion  of  wearing  the  hair.  The  greater  abun- 
dance and  length  of  the  hair  of  the  head  among  women  has  ad- 
mitted among  them  the  most  varied  arrangements  of  the  growth. 
In  the  Merovingian  line  of  early  French  kings,  long  hair  was  the 
sign  of  princely  birth  and  breeding.  The  flaxen  locks  of  those 
people  were  arranged  with  great  care,  and  flowed  over  neck  and 
shoulders.  Their  subjects  were  compelled  to  shave  the  back  part 
of  the  head,  to  comb  the  hair  over  the  forehead,  and  to  content 
themselves  with  the  ornament  of  two  small  whiskers.  So  the 
historian  Gibbon  says,  in  his  "Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire."  From  the  thirteenth  century  monuments  we  gain  an 
idea  of  the  way  in  which  the  hair  was  worn  during  that  period. 
The  widow  of  Richard  I  and  Eleanor  of  Castile  are  represented 
with  waving  hair  flowing  from  beneath  their  crowns.  Towards 
the  close  of  the  century,  the  ladies'  hair  was  arranged  within  a 
network  of  gold  and  silver  filigree  or  of  silk  network.  In  an 
effigy  of  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  Henry  VII,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  an  angular  head-dress  was  worn,  from 
which  the  hair  fell  unconfined  upon  the  shoulders.  During  the 
reign  of  Charles  II,  of  England,  the  ringlets  of  the  ladies  fell 
from  a  circlet  of  pearls.  Under  William  III,  head-dresses  suc- 
ceeded to  flowing  ringlets.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century  a  very  extravagant  style  came  into  fashion.  The  hair 


THE    HAIR,    ITS    FASHIONS   AND   ITS   DISEASES.  383 

was  frizzed  up  into  curls,  drawn  up  high  like  a  military  shako, 
adorned  with  ribbons,  feathers,  and  jewels,  and  stiffened  with 
pomatum  and  powder.  The  time  demanded  for  the  production 
of  these  elaborate  coiffures  was  so  great  and  the  call  upon  hair- 
dressers so  insistent  that  it  was  frequently  necessary  for  ladies 
to  have  their  hair  dressed  a  day  or  two  in  adv?nce  of  the  fes- 
tivity in  which  they  were  to  take  part.  This,  in  turn,  often  in- 
volved the  necessity  of  their  sleeping  propped  up  in  a  chair  until 
the  event  took  place. 

Men  have,  at  various  periods,  worn  their  hair  closely  cut, 
or  have  allowed  it  to  attain  its  natural  length.  During  the 
civil  war  in  England  between  the  adherents  of  Charles  I  and 
those  of  Parliament,  the  cavaliers  of  King  Charles's  party  wore 
their  hair  flowing,  in  what  the  closely-cropped  members  of  the 
other  party  contemptuously  called  "lovelocks."  Wigs  have  been 
from  time  immemorial  used  by  both  sexes  for  the  purpose  of 
concealing  baldness.  At  certain  periods,  too,  they  have  also  been 
fashionable  as  an  adornment.  When  used  to  conceal  baldness, 
they  are  made  to  imitate  the  natural  growth  of  hair.  When  em- 
ployed merely  as  part  of  ceremonial  attire  they  have  assumed 
huge  and  unnatural  proportions.  The  British  Museum  contains 
an  Egyptian  wig  which  is  supposed  to  be  about  four  thousand 
years  old.  Wigs  were  known  to  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans, 
and  presumably  to  the  Assyrians.  The  modern  large  wig,  the 
peruke,  worn  as  an  article  of  dress,  was  introduced  by  Louis 
XIII  of  France,  in  order  to  conceal  his  baldness.  It  became 
generally  adopted  as  a  portion  of  full-dress  and  maintained  its 
position  for  a  century.  There  was  a  time  when.  Louis  XIV,  the 
successor  of  Louis  XIII,  objected  to  a  certain  high  style  of  dress- 
ing the  hair  among  the  ladies  of  his  court,  but  the  peruke  for 
gentlemen  outlasted  his  reign.  The  fashion  gradually  declined, 
and  the  only  remnant  of  it  now  lingers  with  English  judges,  bar- 
risters, and  the  speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  with 
those  only  when  in  performance  of  their  public  functions. 

Powdering  the  hair  was  a  widespread  fashion  during  the 


384  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

eighteenth  century.  The  powder  was  made  of  starch,  scented 
with  violet  or  some  other  perfume.  Laws  were  enacted  for- 
bidding the  use  for  the  hair  of  any  other  powder  but  starch.  In 
order  to  keep  the  powder  in  place  the  hair  was  first  of  all 
pomatumed.  In  1795  a  tax  was  imposed  in  Great  Britain  upon 
hair-powder,  and  for  some  time  considerable  revenue  was  derived 
from  this  source.  Eventually,  however,  it  had  the  effect  of  caus- 
ing the  disuse  of  hair-powder. 

The  style  of  wearing  the  hair  upon  the  face  has  greatly 
varied  in  modern  times.  At  certain  periods  the  mustache  and 
imperial  were  in  vogue.  In  the  time  of  Charles  I  of  England,  the 
Van  Dyke,  the  pointed  beard,  was  the  prevailing  fashion.  In 
European  countries  generally  the  style  was  set  by  the  reigning 
monarchs.  Beards  were  highly  esteemed  by  Spaniards  until  the 
accession  of  Philip  V  to  the  throne.  The  circumstance  of  his 
having  a  scanty  growth  of  beard  obliged  the  king  to  shave,  and 
in  consequence  the  courtiers  and  people  generally  imitated  his 
practice.  Beards  were  retained  by  the  French,  under  Francis  I, 
long  after  they  were  out  of  fashion  in  other  countries,  because 
the  king  wore  a  long  beard  for  the  purpose  of  concealing  a  scar 
upon  the  chin.  The  beard  was  so  highly  valued  by  Juan  de 
Castro,  the  Portugese  admiral,  that  when  he  extorted  a  loan 
from  the  city  of  Goa,  he  presented  that  municipality  with  some  of 
his  whiskers,  with  the  remark :  "All  the  gold  in  the  world  can- 
not equal  this  natural  ornament  of  my  valor."  Beards  some- 
times attain  immense  size.  That  of  Johan  Mayo,  a  German 
painter,  was  so  long  that  it  trailed  upon  the  ground  when  he 
stood,  and  for  convenience  he  was  accustomed  to  tuck  it  into  his 
girdle.  It  is  told  of  a  certain  emissary  from  England  to  Rus- 
sia, in  1555,  that  his  beard  was  broad,  thick,  yellow,  and  meas- 
ured five  feet  two  inches  in  length. 

The  strange  practice  of  taxing  beards  occurred  both  in 
England  and  Russia.  Men  who  wished  to  wear  beards  were 
obliged  to  pay  for  the  privilege  under  several  of  the  earlier 
English  monarchs,  and  long  afterwards  under  the  Czar  Peter, 
of  Russia. 


THE    HAIR,    ITS    FASHIONS    AND    ITS   DISEASES.  385 

Professional  care  of  the  hair  and  beard  early  led  to  the 
existence  of  the  barber,  to  whom  great  loquacity  has  always 
been  ascribed.  Countless  references  to  this  trait  are  met  with 
in  literature.  We  see  it  in  George  Eliot's  "Romola."  The 
village  barber  was  one  of  the  familiars  of  Don  Quixote  before 
he  set  out  on  his  knight-errantry.  The  barber  of  Louis  XI,  of 
France,  is  signalized  in  history.  The  occupation  of  the  barber 
was  for  centuries  combined  with  that  of  minor  surgery.  In  the 
early  times,  however,  such  duties  did  not  rise  much  above  the 
dignity  of  a  handicraft ;  the  barber-surgeons  did  not  stand  upon 
the  same  plane  as  that  occupied  by  physicians  and  surgeons.  It 
was  not  until  1745  that,  in  England,  the  barber  ceased  to  be  a 
barber-surgeon  and  became  a  barber  pure  and  simple.  Neverthe- 
less, the  progress  of  surgery  had  been  promoted  by  some  of  these 
men.  Ambrose  Pare,  who  lived  in  the  sixteenth  century,  was  the 
most  illustrious  surgeon  of  his  times,  and  did  much  to  improve 
the  art  of  surgery.  Yet  he  began  his  career  as  a  barber-surgeon, 
and  in  the  zenith  of  his  fame  became  surgeon-in-chief  to  the 
armies  of  France.  The  world  of  that  day  owed  to  him  a  debt 
of  gratitude  for  one  thing  alone.  He  abolished  the  barbarous 
practice  of  applying  boiling  oil  to  wounds  for  the  purpose  of 
inducing  haemorrhage  in  them.  It  was  he  also  who  introduced 
the  practice  of  using  ligatures  for  divided  blood-vessels,  a  pro- 
cedure which  adds  to  the  efficiency  and  safety  of  extensive 
operations.  For  many  years  thereafter  the  barber,  no  longer 
the  surgeon-barber,  plied  his  trade  of  snipping  hair  and  beard 
and  making  mild  suggestions  to  his  customers  about  the  efficacy 
of  his  tonic  and  shampoo,  incidentally  acquiring  his  reputation 
as  an  inveterate  talker  about  all  manner  of  things  within  and 
beyond  his  ken.  His  white  pole  of  a  sign,  wound  around  with 
a  diagonal  red  band  of  paint,  is  supposed  to  be  the  survival  of 
his  old  trade  as  barber-surgeon,  representing  the  arm  of  the 
patient  so  wound  preparatory  to  being  bled,  or  blooded,  as  it 
was  often  called.  Any  keen  observer  must  perceive  that  the 
barber's  present  representatives  do  not  generally  deserve  the 

25 


386  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

reputation  of  talkativeness  which  they  once  acquired.  The  mod- 
ern barber  reads  and  has  learned  of  the  fun  that  was  poked  at 
him,  has  now  become  comparatively  silent,  and  strictly  attends 
to  business,  although  long  habit  still  compels  him  to  whisper, 
"Tonic,  shampoo,  your  hair  is  getting  rather  thin  on  top." 

The  health  of  the  hair,  and  consequently  its  beauty,  may 
be  affected  by  various  constitutional  diseases,  by  the  condition  of 
the  scalp,  and  by  nervous  and  emotional  influences.  It  may  also 
be  affected  by  parasitic  invasion.  The  commonest  consequences 
of  these  ailments  are  grayness  and  baldness.  On  the  contrary, 
there  may  be  excessive  growth  of  hair  upon  various  portions  of 
the  body. 

BALDNESS. 

Loss  of  hair  may  be  partial  or  general.  It  may  be  prema- 
ture, incidental  to  old  age,  or  it  may  be  absent  from  birth.  Ten- 
dency to  early  baldness  is  hereditary.  The  nourishment  of  the 
hair  is  dependent  upon  abundant  supply  of  blood  to  the  scalp,  its 
steady  nervous  support,  and  absence  of  constitutional  or  ac- 
quired disease. 

Intelligent  treatment  of  the  hair  should  begin  in  infancy. 
Indigestion  in  children  generates  tetter,  scrofula,  and  parasitic 
diseases,  with  which  healthy  growth  of  hair  is  incompatible. 
Baldness  is  more  common  among  brain-workers  than  among 
artisans.  The  sedentary  habit  of  the  student  is  favorable  to  the 
acquisition  of  dyspepsia  and  feeble  circulation.  Preponderance 
of  blood  drawn  to  the  brain  in  intellectual  work  is  at  the  ex- 
pense of  that  necessary  for  the  nutrition  of  the  scalp.  The  ner- 
vous system,  also,  exercises  a  powerful  influence  upon  the  growth 
of  the  hair.  When  the  scalp's  nutrition  has  been  long  inade- 
quate, the  scalp  loses  its  sensibility,  becomes  white  and  shiny, 
and  permanent  loss  of  hair  upon  it  ensues.  Loss  of  sleep, 
anxiety,  grief,  excitement,  alternate  exaltation  and  depression  of 
spirits,  abuse  of  tobacco  and  alcoholic  liquors,  are  among  many 
causes  which  impair  nervous  force. 


THE    HAIR,    ITS    FASHIONS    AND    ITS    DISEASES.  387 

Loss  of  hair  is  occasioned  by  certain  diseases  of  the  scalp, 
by  typhoid  and  spotted  fevers,  scarlet  fever,  erysipelas,  and  other 
diseases.  Even  in  anaemia  and  general  debility,  the  nutrition  of 
the  hair  is  lessened.  Unwise  habits  among  women  in  dressing 
the  hair  dispose  to  its  loss.  Hair  needs  ventilation,  sun,  and 
air  just  as  more  highly  organized  tissues  do.  These  beneficial 
influences  are  often  lost  even  by  men,  through  the  practice  of 
some  of  them  in  constantly  wearing  the  hat.  The  best  hats  are 
those  which  are  furnished  with  minute  perforations.  A  sparing 
use  of  some  fragrant  oil  on  the  scalp  and  hair  is  conducive  to  its 
health  and  preservation,  supplying  the  scalp's  deficient  sebum, 
the  natural  oil  of  the  skin,  and  preventing  splitting  and  ragged 
condition  of  the  ends  of  the  hair.  The  scalp  and  beard  should 
be  washed  once  or  twice  a  week  with  soap  and  warm  water. 
After  a  surf-bath  the  hair  should  be  loosened  and  thoroughly 
dried,  if  possible  in  the  sunlight. 

A  good  preparation  for  cleansing  the  hair  can  be  made  by 
the  following  formula: — 

Borax 1  ounce. 

Bicarbonate  of  soda    %  ounce. 

Camphor    1  drachm. 

Glycerine %  ounce. 

Rose-water    1  quart. 

Alcohol     2  ounces. 

Mix.  Dissolve  the  camphor  in  the  alcohol  and  add  to  the  other  ingre- 
dients previously  mixed. 

A  drying  wash  for  moist  hair  is  made  by  the  following 

formula: — 

• 

Cologne  or  lavender  water 4  ounces. 

Borax %  ounce. 

Tincture  of  cochineal   %  ounce. 

Rose-water    3  ounces. 

Mix. 

Brilliantine  pomatum  can  be  made  by  melting  together  in 
a  water-bath  six  ounces  of  suet  and  four  ounces  of  clear  amber 
resin.  While  at  the  temperature  of  about  one  hundred  and 
seventy-six  degrees  Fahrenheit,  add  a  solution  of  five  ounces 


388  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

of  caustic  soda  in  ten  ounces  of  alcohol.  Heat  in  a  large  vessel 
until  a  transparent  soap  is  formed.  In  another  vessel  heat  eight 
pounds  of  vaseline  in  ten  pounds  of  castor-oil,  and  add  gradu- 
ally, by  portions,  twenty  ounces  of  the  soap  mass  and  three 
quarts  of  rectified  spirits.  Heat  the  whole  product  until  bubbles 
rise,  pour  out,  color  with  gamboge,  and  scent  with  three  ounces 
of  oil  of  sweet  orange  or  any  other  perfume.  For  this  recipe 
there  is  the  high  authority  of  "The  Druggist  and  Chemist." 

"The  British  and  Colonial  Druggist"  gives  the  following 
formula  for  a  stimulating  pomatum : — 

Lard •  16  ounces. 

Almond-oil    4  ounces. 

Marrow    •  .  20  ounces. 

Balsam  of  Peru 2  drachms. 

Powdered  cinchona   2  drachms. 

Oil  of  cloves   2  drachms. 

Otto  of  rose   20  drachms. 

Mix. 

It  is  only  within  comparatively  a  few  years,  say  at  most 
thirty,  that  women  as  well  as  men  relinquished  their  former 
practice  of  using  pomatum  on  the  hair  and  resorted  to  wearing 
it  dry  and  often  frizzed.  It  would  really  seem  that  this  rigid 
abstention  from  the  use  of  pomatum  has  been  followed  in  both 
sexes  by  an  increase  of  baldness. 

Combs  should  have  large,  coarse,  and  blunt  teeth.  The 
excessive  use  of  the  fine-tooth  comb,  with  which,  a  generation  or 
two  ago,  people  frequently  exacerbated  their  scalps,  has  happily 
ceased.  Its  occasional  use  is  desirable,  but  it  should  never,  as 
of  old,  be  dug  into  the  scalp,  but  be  gently  drawn  over  its  sur- 
face. A  moderately  stfff  brush  may  be  used  several  times  a  day 
to  free  the  scalp  of  dust  and  dandruff,  and  to  gently  stimulate  its 
surface  by  friction.  Bandoline  has  a  tendency  to  change  dark 
hair  to  that  of  a  reddish  cast.  The  following  is  a  formula  for 
making  it: — 

Gum-tragacanth 2  ounces. 

Essential  oil  of  almonds 2  drachms. 

Alcohol 4  ounces. 

Orange-flower  water   1  pint. 

Water 7  pints. 

Mix. 


THE    HAIR,    ITS    FASHIONS    AND    ITS    DISEASES.  389 

Rose-water  or  otto  of  roses  may  be  substituted  for  the  per- 
fume of  the  essential  oil  of  almonds  in  the  above  formula.  The 
mixture  may  be  colored  pink  by  the  addition  of  liquid  carmine. 
The  gum  is  dissolved  for  a  day  or  two  in  water,  stirred  well,  the 
solution  strained,  and  finally  the  alcohol,  with  the  perfume, 
added. 

Another  formula  for  bandoline  is  the  following : — 

Quince  seed y2  ounce. 

Glycerine 1  ounce. 

Rose-water 1  pint. 

Mix. 

The  following  wash  for  the  hair  is  given  by  "The  Pharma- 
ceutical Journal  :"- 

Oil  of  sweet-almonds 40  ounces. 

Solution  of  borax   10  ounces. 

Solution  of  potash    6  drachms. 

Essence  of  lemon y2  ounce. 

Essence  of  bergamot 2  drachms. 

Put  the  oil  of  almonds  in  a  bottle  or  other  suitable  vessel  and  add  thereto 
the  solution  of  borax.  Shake  well  together,  and  add  the  solution  of  potash, 
and  again  shake  after  a  thorough  incorporation;  lastly,  add  the  essence  of 
lemon  and  bergamot,  and  thoroughly  mix.  This  will  be  found  to  produce  an 
inseparable  and  uniform  creamy  preparation. 

Dusting  powders,  especially  so-called  diamond  and  gold- 
dust  powders,  cut  the  hair  and  cause  it  to  become  dull,  brittle, 
and  lifeless.  A  hair-powder,  the  ingredients  of  which  are  at 
least  harmless,  is  composed  as  follows : — 

Finely  powdered  starch   1  pound. 

Orris-root    1  ounce. 

Oil  of  rhodium 10  drops. 

Mix. 

For  preparations  of  a  brilliant  dust  for  the  hair,  Christian! 
gives  the  following  directions  for  so-called  diamond-dust,  gold- 
dust,  and  silver-dust:— 

For  diamond-dust,  "white  smalts  (smalts  is  a  glass  formed 
by  melting  oxide  of  cobalt  with  pure  quartz  sand  and  carbonate 
of  potassium)  are  well  washed  and  rubbed  into  a  coarse  powder 
in  an  iron  mortar,  after  which  they  are  put  into  paper  boxes  hold- 
ing about  a  quarter  of  an  ounce." 


390  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

GOLD-DUST. 

"Florence  leaf,  such  as  is  used  in  common  gilding,  is  rubbed 
to  a  coarse  powder  in  a  Wedgwood  mortar,  and  put  into  small 
paper  boxes  neatly  labelled." 

SILVER-DUST. 

"White  leaf,  or  Dutch  metal,  is  rubbed  in  a  mortar  and 
finely  divided,  and  put  up  in  neat  boxes  holding  about  a  drachm." 

Baldness  is  much  more  common  in  men  than  in  women,  for 
several  reasons.  In  women  there  is  a  thicker  layer  than  in  men, 
of  connective  tissue  under  the  scalp.  This  involves  with  them, 
beyond  men,  a  larger  supply  of  blood-vessels  there,  with  con- 
sequent nutrient  substance  from  the  blood.  Women,  too,  pay 
much  more  attention  to  their  hair  than  men  do  to  theirs.  Their 
usual  mode  of  life  exposes  them  less  than  men  to  various  excesses 
iwhich  weaken  the  constitution. 

Women  are  quick  to  detect  the  approach  of  baldness  and 
skillful  in  concealing  its  encroachment.  There  is  one  thing  upon 
which,  however,  they  are  not  always  upon  their  guard,  owing 
to  ignorance  of  a  simple  physical  fact.  Each  hair-bed  is  capable 
of  supporting  in  a  healthy  condition  a  hair-shaft  of  a  certain 
length,  no  longer.  The  case  is  exactly  like  that  of  a  plant  in  its 
dependence  upon  the  soil.  Whether  or  not  women  are  attempt- 
ing a  growth  of  hair  beyond  the  capacity  of  the  soil  of  their 
heads  to  maintain  it  is  easily  discoverable  by  examination  of  the 
ends  of  the  hair.  If  these  are  dry,  brittle,  and  split,  the  ends 
should  be  cut  off  down  to  the  point  in  the  shafts  where  the 
healthiness  of  the  growth  is  evident.  Suppose  that  there  comes 
a  period  by  age,  or  by  some  temporary  ailment,  when  the  hair 
is  dropping  out;  manifestly  the  soil  of  the  hair-beds,  whatever 
it  once  may  have  been  capable  of,  is  no  longer  equal  to  support- 
ing the  length  of  hair  which  formerly  was  habitual,  and  the 
remedy  is  the  obvious  one  just  mentioned.  Cutting  the  hair 
close  merely  increases  the  thickness  of  the  shafts  at  the  expense 


THE    HAIR,    ITS    FASHIONS    AND   ITS    DISEASES.  391 

of  length.  A  man's  beard  is  by  nature  silky,  but  if  he  shaves 
continually  the  growth  becomes  coarse.  Just  so  it  is  with  any 
growth  of  hair,  whether  on  the  head  or  face.  To  each  individual 
nature  allots  a  normal  length,  which  is  determined  by  the  rich- 
ness of  the  soil  of  connective  tissue,  and  can  only  be  modified 
by  cutting. 

After  typhoid  and  other  severe  fevers  the  hair  loses  its  vitality, 
its  lustre,  and  has  a  dull,  dead  appearance,  and  eventually  falls  out. 
It  is  then  advisable  to  shave  the  scalp,  keeping  the  head  covered 
with  a  light  cap  until  a  new  crop  of  hair  has  appeared.  The 
tone  of  the  scalp  may,  in  the  mean  time,  be  improved  by  appro- 
priate local  and  constitutional  treatment.  If  the  toilet  of  the 
hair  were  generally  performed  with  more  intelligence  than  it 
is,  early  baldness  would  be  much  less  frequent  than  it  is  now. 

DRY    SHAMPOO. 

A  crude  species  of  massage  is  practiced  by  barbers  and 
hair-dressers  under  the  name  of  "dry  shampoo."  This  treat- 
ment is,  nevertheless,  of  service  in  maintaining  the  scalp  and  hair 
in  healthy  condition.  It  is  performed  by  manipulating  the  scalp 
with  the  finger-tips,  drawing  it  up  between  the  thumb  and 
fingers,  and  moving  it  backward  and  forward  and  from  side  to 
side  upon  the  skull.  Then  the  scalp  is  washed  with  a  slightly 
stimulating  liquid,  as,  for  instance,  equal  parts  of  bay-rum  and 
water,  with  a  little  ammonia  solution. 

WET   SHAMPOO. 

If  not  too  frequently  repeated,  washing  the  scalp  with  soap 
and  water  is  of  use  for  removing  the  accumulation  of  scales  of 
dandruff  adhering  to  the  scalp  and  entangled  in  the  hair.  These 
scales,  in  profusion,  may  by  their  presence  impair  the  nutrition 
of  the  hair.  Once  in  two  weeks  is  generally  sufficient  for  this 
kind  of  cleansing  operation.  Take  soapy  matter,  either  previously 
manufactured  in  liquid  form  or  else  made  extemporaneously  from 
some  pure,  bland  soap,  and  let  it  be  rubbed  into  foam  upon  the 


392  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

head.  The  entire  scalp  should  be  thoroughly  gone  over  with 
the  tips  of  the  fingers  and  the  lather  then  removed  by  a  douche 
of  warm  water  over  the  head  while  it  is  held  over  a  basin.  The 
hair  ought  then  to  be  dried  by  hot  towels.  As  a  finality,  some 
pure  animal  oil  should  be  rubbed  into  the  scalp  with  the  tips  of 
the  fingers.  The  hair  itself  will  incidentally  receive  sufficient 
oiliness.  This  use  of  a  good  oil  or  pomatum  is  important,  as  sup- 
plying the  natural  oil  of  the  scalp  and  hair,  lost  by  the  operation 
of  applying  soap  to  them. 

ACUTE    AND    CHRONIC    BALDNESS. 

Premature  baldness  is  correctly  divisible  into  two  varieties, 
acute  and  chronic.  Each  of  these  forms  may  depend  upon  the 
operation  of  either  general  or  local  causes.  In  the  acute  variety 
the  hair  may  be  lost  within  a  few  days  or  in  the  course  of  three 
or  four  months.  In  some  cases  the  scalp  seems  entirely  free  from 
diseases,  but  the  hair  falls  spontaneously,  or  under  the  movement 
of  the  brush.  Sometimes  neuralgic  pains  precede  loss  of  hair, 
but  in  many  cases  no  sensation  whatever  is  experienced.  The 
hair-shafts  themselves  may  not  be  changed  in  appearance.  The 
first  manifestation  of  chronic  baldness  is  the  loosening  and  drop- 
ping out  of  the  hair  when  it  has  attained  its  usual  length,  and 
the  supplying  of  its  place  by  a  shorter  growth.  After  this 
change  has  been  proceeding  for  a  while  the  second  stage  pre- 
sents diminution  in  the  thickness  as  well  as  in  the  length  of  the 
individual  hairs,  and  they  become  weaker  and  weaker  in  vitality, 
until  at  last  they  form  a  mere  down.  Finally,  even  this  feeble 
growth  may  fail.  The  third  stage  is  reached  when  the  hair  has 
entirely  disappeared,  when  the  upper  layer  of  the  skin  of  the 
scalp  becomes  thin  and  shrunken  and  the  bald  pate  presents  a 
tense,  glistening  appearance,  as  smooth  and  shiny  as  a  billiard 
ball.  The  process  usually  begins  at  the  crown  of  the  head  and 
extends  forward  to  the  forehead,  but  sometimes  it  begins  just 
above  the  forehead. 

Various  disorders  of  the  scalp  cause  loss  of  hair.    One  of  the 


THE    HAIR,    ITS    FASHIONS   AND   ITS   DISEASES.  393 

most  frequent  causes  of  early  baldness  is  an  oily,  scurfy  skin. 
This  affection,  as  previously  described,  is  characterized  by  the 
production  on  the  head  of  exudation  mixed  with  scales  of  the 
scarf-skin,  forming  crusts  of  a  dirty  white  or  yellowish  tinge. 
These  crusts  obstruct  the  openings  of  the  ducts  on  the  scalp. 
The  course  of  the  affection  is  slow.  This  form  of  it  may  occur 
in  youth,  or  may  be  postponed  until  between  the  thirtieth  and 
fortieth  years  of  age. 

Baldness  and  scales  on  the  scalp  are,  of  course,  consequent 
upon  defective  nutrition  of  the  scalp.  Excluding  the  effect  of 
serious  diseases,  such  as  consumption  and  cancer,  they  generally 
arise  from  imperfection  of  the  digestion  and  the  blood-forming 
system.  Including  the  effect  of  serious  diseases,  they  may  fol- 
low some  attacks  of  severe  fever,  or  are  owing  to  some  obscure 
local  conditions  which  have  impaired  the  nutrition  of  the  scalp. 
Among  the  latter  may  be  cited  heat  and  cold,  uncleanliness,  use 
of  hair-powder,  dyes,  irritating  lotions,  and  too  severe  combing 
and  brushing. 

Tetter  of  the  scalp,  whether  acute  or  chronic,  seldom  gives 
rise  to  permanent  baldness.  In  rare  cases,  however,  tetter  pro- 
duces an  abscess  in  the  scalp,  and  the  hair  becomes  thereby  irre- 
trievably lost  over  the  area  in  which  matter  has  appeared.  Some 
of  the  parasitic  diseases  of  the  scalp  cause  loss  of  hair  in  spots. 
This  is  not,  however,  usual,  but  occurs  only  under  exceptional 
circumstances.  Herpes,  a  disease  which  produces  groups  of 
blisters,  is  among  the  diseases  which  attack  the  scalp,  and  may 
produce  more  or  less  loss  of  its  hair. 

In  an  effort  to  arrest  the  falling  out  of  the  hair  and  to 
restore  it  to  a  healthy  growth,  it  is  not  sufficient  to  adopt  only 
external  applications  for  treatment.  The  cause  of  the  affection 
must  be  sought,  and,  if  found,  some  internal,  constitutional 
remedies  should  be  administered.  The  scalp  should  be  kept 
scrupulously  clean,  without  exacerbating  it  by  harsh  treatment. 
If  the  hair  does  not  seem  altered  in  appearance,  the  application 
of  some  mildly  stimulating  astringent,  cleansing  lotion  is  of 


394  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

advantage.  A  pleasant  and  excellent  one  is  the  balsam  of  Peru, 
which  may  either  be  dissolved  in  diluted  alcohol  or  mixed  with 
some  fatty  substance  and  used  as  a  pomatum.  It  may  be  incor- 
porated with  lanolin,  which  is  not  only  oily,  but  a  nutriment  for 
the  hair  and  scalp.  Three  parts  of  pure  lanolin  to  one  part  of 
benzoated  lard  makes  a  mixture  of  the  proper  consistency.  The 
tincture  or  the  compound  tincture  of  benzoin  may  be  used  instead 
of  the  Peruvian  balsam.  The  sulphate  of  quinine,  also,  a  drachm 
to  an  ounce  of  lard,  perfumed  with  a  few  drops  of  some  essential 
oil,  makes  a  very  good  preparation.  An  ointment  containing  a 
drachm  of  beta-naphthol  to  the  ounce  of  lard  or  of  lanolin 
makes  an  excellent  application.  Resorcin  may  be  made  into  an 
ointment  of  the  strength  of  five  or  ten  grains  to  the  ounce  of 
lanolin  or  of  lard.  A  good  emulsion  for  a  lotion  may  be  made 
by  adding  olive  oil  or  sweet  almond  oil  to  an  alcoholic  solu- 
tion of  resorcin.  A  remedy  frequently  of  service  for  the  condi- 
tion here  discussed  is  a  solution  of  chloral  in  diluted  alcohol  or 
in  cologne,  in  the  proportion  of  one  drachm  to  half  a  pint. 
Glycerine  may  be  substituted  for  the  alcohol  or  cologne.  A  good 
preparation  is  made  by  mixing  equal  parts  of  white  precipitate 
ointment  and  cold  cream,  or  of  oxide  of  zinc  ointment.  An 
occasional  shampoo  with  the  tincture  of  green  soap,  either  of 
full  strength  or  weakened,  would  be  of  assistance  to  the  other 
procedures  recommended.  This  process  cleanses  and  stimulates 
the  scalp,  and  may  be  employed  every  day  if  it  does  not  prove 
too  irritant.  It  is  important  that  after  the  treatment  is  fin- 
ished all  the  soapy  matter  should  be  washed  away  with  salt 
water,  and  the  hair  well  dried.  After  that  any  one  of  the  oint- 
ments or  of  the  lotions  here  described  should  be  applied. 

When  the  oil-glands  of  the  scalp  are  diseased,  constant  care 
and  patience  are  indispensable  to  averting  loss  of  hair.  As  a 
general  rule,  both  internal  and  external  treatments  are  demanded. 
The  earlier  suitable  measures  are  taken,  the  better  is  the  prospect 
of  success.  The  patient  should  have  the  benefit  of  sunlight  and 
exercise,  and  the  diet  should  be  carefully  regulated.  Sulphur  is 


THE    HAIR,    ITS    FASHIONS   AND   ITS   DISEASES.  395 

a  valuable  constitutional  remedy  in  this  complaint.  Sulphur  is 
an  element  naturally  occurring  in  some  abundance  in  the  hair, 
and  therefore  is  instrumental  towards  its  nutrition.  To  be  of 
effect  when  an  oily,  scaly  condition  of  the  scalp  is  present,  it 
should  be  persistently  taken  in  five-grain  doses  three  times  a  day, 
during  a  considerable  time. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  sacrifice  the  hair  by  cutting.  It  op- 
poses no  obstacle  to  carrying  out  the  treatment  prescribed.  The 
first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  remove  the  crusts  on  the  scalp.  This 
can  be  easily  done  by  saturating  them  with  oil.  A  cap  can  be 
worn  until  the  oil  has  had  time  thoroughly  to  soak  into  the 
foreign  matter  encrusting  the  head.  Any  pure  oil  will  accom- 
plish the  purpose,  but  the  best  of  all  for  it  is  the  oil  of  ergot, 
which,  as  oil,  not  only  detaches  the  crusts,  but  has  a  medicative 
influence  upon  the  seat  of  the  disease.  An  excellent  preparation 
can  be  made  by  mixing  one  part  of  the  oil  of  ergot  with  four 
parts  of  olive-oil.  A  small  amount  of  the  oil  of  eucalyptus  forms 
a  very  efficient  combination  with  it.  A  mixture  of  the  oil  of 
ergot  with  an  equal  quantity  of  glycerine,  or  the  fifty  per  cent, 
solution  of  boroglyceride  is  a  good  preparation.  Of  course  the 
addition  of  a  few  drops  of  perfume  would  increase  its  pleasant- 
ness. 

After  the  crusts  have  been  removed  from  the  scalp,  it  may 
present  a  healthy  appearance,  or  it  may  be  unusually  pale  or 
red.  In  case  it  be  pale,  applications  that  are  more  or  less 
stimulant  are  indicated;  but  in  case  it  be  red,  only  the  most 
bland  application  should  be  employed.  In  mild  cases  the  use 
of  the  oil  of  ergot,  together  with  occasional  cleansing  of  the 
head  with  soap  and  water,  may  be  all  that  is  needed  to  restore 
the  scalp  to  a  healthy  condition.  In  severe  cases,  however,  more 
particular  measures  become  necessary.  By  the  cleansing,  the 
disease  remains  unaffected;  the  waste  products  of  the  disease 
mixed  with  scales,  forming  crusts,  again  appear  upon  the  sur- 
face of  the  scalp.  In  this  case,  following  the  procedure  already 
described  for  removing  the  crusts,  the  scalp  should  be  well 


396  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

cleansed  with  soda-soap  and  water,  with  which  chamomile  or 
sulphur  is  advantageously  blended,  or  instead  of  soap  and 
water  a  mixture  of  yelk  of  egg  and  lime-water  may  be  bene- 
ficially employed.  The  surface  of  the  scalp  having  been  well 
cleansed,  the  next  treatment  is  its  stimulation.  The  degree  of 
this  must  depend  upon  the  character  of  the  affection.  It  is  safer, 
of  course,  to  essay  first  the  effect  of  mild  stimulation.  A  solu- 
tion of  table-salt  and  water,  of  the  strength  of  a  fourth  to  three- 
fourths  of  a  pound  of  salt  to  the  pint  of  water,  is  convenient  and 
often  effective.  Five  to  fifteen  grains  of  the  carbonate  of  potash 
to  the  ounce  of  water  may  give  good  results.  Equal  parts  of 
glycerine  and  water  are  occasionally  of  benefit.  A  drachm  of 
carbolic  acid  to  the  pint  of  water  is  capable  of  exciting  circu- 
lation in  the  scalp.  An  ointment  of  Peruvian  balsam  can  be 
recommended.  The  fluid  extract  of  witch-hazel  may  be  used. 
Naphthol  and  resorcin  are  valuable  agents.  Two  to  five  grains 
of  corrosive  sublimate  to  the  ounce  of  water,  or  mixed  with  an 
ounce  of  lard,  is  a  good  application.  Glycerine,  alcohol,  or 
cologne  may  be  substituted  for  plain  water  indicated  above.  An 
ointment  of  tar,  or  a  solution  of  tar  in  alcohol,  is  sometimes  of 
benefit.  An  ointment  containing  precipitated  sulphur  often  yields 
good  results.  Ten  grains  of  tannic  acid  in  solution,  to  the  ounce 
of  glycerine ;  an  ointment  of  tannic  or  of  gallic  acid  will  often  be 
of  service.  An  ointment  composed  of  two  parts  of  salicylic  acid 
to  three  parts  of  the  tincture  of  benzoin  and  one  hundred  parts 
of  neatsfoot  oil  may  be  used  with  some  confidence.  Jaborandi 
has  a  good  effect  upon  the  growth  of  the  hair.  Half  a  drachm  of 
the  tincture  of  jaborandi  added  to  equal  parts  of  glycerine  and 
lanolin  is  a  good  stimulant  to  the  glands  of  the  scalp,  a  small 
amount  of  the  preparation  being  rubbed  on  the  scalp  every  night. 
Alcohol  and  preparations  into  which  it  enters, — various  spirits, 
ether,  the  essential  oils,  petroleum,  turpentine,  and  solution  of 
ammonia, — are  frequently  beneficial  when  decided  stimulation  is 
demanded.  White  precipitate  ointment,  either  in  full  strength 
or  weakened,  is  likewise  useful.  A  good  stimulant  is  chloral 


THE    HAIR,    ITS    FASHIONS    AND    ITS   DISEASES.  397 

hydrate,  in  the  form  of  a  lotion  made  by  dissolving  a  drachm 
in  six  ounces  of  alcohol  or  of  cologne  and  two  ounces  of  glycerine. 

If  early  baldness  is  caused  by  depression,  exhaustion,  or  any 
other  disorder  of  the  nervous  system,  remedies  must  be  given  to 
restore  the  tone  of  that  important  agent  of  the  body's  economy. 
Change  of  climate  is  desirable,  sojourn  at  the  seaside,  with  bath- 
ing, or  a  trip  among  the  mountains.  Drugs  of  a  tonic  sort  are 
required, — iron,  quinine,  cod-liver  oil,  and  others  which  have 
influence  upon  the  nervous  system. 

The  nutrition  of  the  scalp  is  promoted  by  the  treatment  of 
massage,  the  use  of  hot,  alternating  with  cold,  douches  of  water, 
by  shampooing  with  either  hard  or  soft  soap,  and,  above  all, 
by  galvanic  electricity.  The  electrical  current  from  the  negative 
pole  may  be  applied  by  means  of  moistened  sponges,  the  hair 
being  moistened  to  permit  its  easy  passage,  and -parted  at  inter- 
vals so  as  to  let  the  scalp  and  sponges  come  into  contact  with  each 
other.  Or,  the  hair  having  been  first  dampened,  the  negative 
pole  of  the  galvanic  battery  may  be  attached  to  a  special  brush 
for  the  purpose,  having  wire  bristles,  which  is  used  on  the  head 
with  the  right  hand,  while  the  positive  pole,  with  its  moistened 
sponge,  is  held  in  the  other  hand.  Thus  the  current  is  sent 
searching  through  every  portion  of  the  hair  and  scalp. 

Obstinate  cases  require,  in  addition  to  the  means  already 
described  for  combating  this  disease  of  the  scalp,  drugs  of  greater 
strength  than  those  previously  mentioned.  The  effects  of  these, 
however,  need  to  be  closely  watched  lest  they  produce  inflam- 
mation of  the  scalp  instead  of  relieving  it  of  disease.  When 
baldness  has  been  caused  by  some  constitutional  disease,  the 
appetite,  digestion,  and  general  health  must  be  improved  by 
careful  attention  to  hygienic  rules  and  by  the  use  of  tonics. 

Some  formulae  are  here  added  for  preparations  useful  for 
removing  dandruff  and  stimulating  the  growth  of  the  hair : — 


39$  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

Boric  acid  1  drachm. 

Salicylic  acid %  drachm. 

Oil  of  anise 5  drops 

Oil  of  rose 3  drops. 

Lanolin    %  ounce. 

Cold  cream %  ounce. 

Mix.     Rub  well  into  the  eyebrows,  scalp,  or  any  part  of  hairy  surface 
where  there  is  much  dandruff. 

Compound  tincture  of  cinchona •  1  ounce. 

Compound  tincture  of  benzoin 2  ounces. 

Glycerine 1  ounce. 

Cologne    2  ounces. 

Water    2  ounces. 

Mix. 

Salol    -..  %  drachm. 

Tannic   acid    1  drachm. 

Balsam  of  Peru   %  ounce. 

Lanolin    %  ounce. 

Benzoated  lard 1  drachm. 

Mix. 

Balsam  of  Peru   %  drachm. 

Beta-naphthol     1  drachm. 

Lanolin    6  drachms. 

Benzoated  lard 2  drachms. 

Mix. 

Carbonate  of  potash   1  drachm. 

Water  of  ammonia   6  drachms. 

Tincture  of  cantharides   2  drachms. 

Oil  of  nutmeg 12  drops. 

Cologne  enough  to  make   %  pint. 

Mix. 

Spirits  of  ammonia %  ounce. 

Tincture  of  capsicum %  ounce. 

Spirits  of  lavender .  1       ounce. 

Tincture  of  nux  vomica   %  ounce. 

Camphor  liniment 2%  ounces. 

Mix. 

FOR    BALDNESS. 

Tincture  of  nux  vomica %  ounce. 

Tincture  of  capsicum   */>  ounce. 

Brandy    4  ounces. 

Mix. 


THE    HAIR,    ITS    FASHIONS    AND    ITS    DISEASES.  399 

Tincture  of  benzoin 2       drachms. 

Spirits  of  chloroform .  1       ounce. 

Tincture  of  nux  vomica 2       drachms. 

Alcohol    2Mj  ounces. 

Mix. 

Resorcin     %  drachm. 

Glycerine -     4  ounces. 

Bay-rum    4  ounces. 

Mix. 


CIRCUMSCRIBED    BALDNESS. 

In  the  affection  of  limited  baldness  the  hair  falls  out  in 
one  or  more  patches.  The  loss  may  be  sudden,  but  it  may  also 
be  gradual.  A  single  patch  may  suddenly  appear,  or  several 
may  develop  in  quick  succession.  This  form  of  baldness  may 
attack  any  hairy  portion  of  the  body,  but  it  generally  begins  upon 
the  scalp.  The  affection  usually  occurs  in  the  case  of  persons 
who  have  previously  possessed  abundance  of  hair.  The  indi- 
vidual hairs  fall  out  without  breaking,  and  neighboring  bare 
spots  may  coalesce  to  form  patches  of  considerable  size.  The 
bare  spots  may,  in  fact,  spread '  so  widely  as  to  form  gen- 
eral baldness.  As  a  general  rule,  however,  the  bare  areas  do 
not  increase  in  size,  and  thus  maintain  their  isolation.  These 
areas  of  bare  scalp  are  generally  characterized  by  paleness  of 
skin,  and  sometimes  the  skin  also  looks  thin,  smooth,  and  glossy. 
Usually  the  surfaces  are  entirely  destitute  of  hair,  but  in  some 
cases  sparse,  unhealthy  hairs  appear  upon  them.  While  the  dis- 
ease is  in  progress  the  hair  around  the  bald  area  or  areas  is  very 
loose,  and  falls  out  upon  the  slightest  stress.  If  the  disease  be 
arrested  these  hairs  become  more  firmly  fixed  in  their  follicles. 
The  fall  of  the  hair  is  not  generally  attended  with  any  other  per- 
ceived symptom  of  disease  except,  perhaps,  itching,  which  some- 
times precedes  and  sometimes  accompanies  the  shedding  of  the 
hair.  Very  often  the  sensibility  of  the  denuded  part  or  parts 
is  either  diminished  or  entirely  lost. 

If  curable,  the  duration  of  circumscribed  baldness  depends 
very  much  upon  the  age  of  the  patient,  and  at  any  age  upon  the 


4OO  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

condition  of  the  system.  At  times  the  rapidity  of  recovery  cor- 
responds with  that  of  the  attack.  In  some  cases  months  or  even 
years  pass  before  the  growth  of  the  hair  is  renewed,  and  in  some 
cases,  of  course,  baldness  remains  permanent.  Circumscribed 
baldness  is  more  disfiguring  than  general  baldness.  If  the 
disease  be  arrested,  the  new  hairs  that  sprout  from  the  scalp 
are  thin,  light-colored,  and  downy.  Gradually  they  become  more 
numerous,  thicker,  and  more  colored,  until  at  length  the  for- 
merly bare  patch  or  patches  of  the  scalp  are  covered  with  a 
healthy  growth. 

Circumscribed  baldness  may  be  distinguished  from  ring- 
worm of  the  scalp  by  the  presence  or  absence  of  the  nibbled, 
ragged  appearance  of  the  hairs  in  the  ringworm  affection.  It 
occurs  in  both  sexes  and  at  all  ages,  not  even  children  being 
exempt  from  it.  It  is  often  associated  with  a  depressed  condition 
or  actual  disease  of  the  nervous  system.  It  has  been  known  to 
follow  emotional  shock,  neuralgia,  epilepsy,  debilitating  fever, 
or  some  other  serious  illness,  such  as  epidemic  influenza  or  the 
grippe.  It  is  sometimes  produced  by  an  injury.  In  some  cases 
it  seems  to  be  produced  by  a  parasite.  The  disease  has  been 
known  to  spread  from  one  person  to  another  in  schools,  hos- 
pitals, and  barracks. 

In  most  cases  of  circumscribed  baldness  it  is  necessary  to 
build  up  the  system  by  means  of  a  nutritious  diet,  fresh  air, 
exercise,  change  of  scene  or  climate,  and  tonic  remedies.  Gal- 
vanism, codliver-oil,  iron,  maltine,  and  the  compound  syrup  of 
the  hypophosphites  are  useful.  The  external  treatment  suitable 
is  the  same  as  that  already  described  for  premature  general  bald- 
ness. When  the  patches  are  pale  and  smooth,  agents  that  are 
decidedly  stimulative  are  required.  The  best  preparation  of 
this  kind  is  an  ointment  containing  mercurous  oleate.  This  may 
be  used  pure,  or  else  weakened  with  an  equal  quantity  of  lanolin. 
An  ointment  of  beta-naphthol,  containing  from  ten  to  sixty 
grains  to  the  ounce  of  lard,  may  be  frequently  used  with  good 
result.  Resorcin  and  thymol  are  also  good  applications.  They 
may  be  combined  as  follows : — 


THE    HAIR,    ITS    FASHIONS    AND    ITS    DISEASES.  40! 

Resorcin    1  drachm. 

Alcohol    4  ounces. 

Mix. 

Thymol    %  drachm. 

Castor-oil    2  ounces. 

Almond-oil    2  ounces. 

Mix. 

It  is  of  advantage  to  shave  the  patches  if  they  become  cov- 
ered with  fine  down.  In  the  case  of  small  patches  which  do  not 
seem  to  be  improved  by  mild  applications,  it  is  often  of  service 
to  use  cantharidal  collodion.  This  is  a  solution  of  Spanish-fly 
and  gun-cotton  in  ether.  It  is  applied  to  the  surface  with  a 
camel's-hair  brush  and  the  operation  repeated  every  week  or  ten 
days.  If  the  spots  of  baldness  be  large,  such  energetic  treatment 
is  not  advisable.  A  lotion  which  has  been  used  with  advantage  is 
the  following: — 

Chloride  of  ammonia   20  grains. 

Corrosive  sublimate   •  .  10  grains. 

Distilled  water  of  witch-hazel   2  ounces. 

Alcohol    3  ounces. 

Mix. 

A  hot  poultice,  to  which  mustard  is  added,  often  produces 
a  good  effect  when  the  patches  are  large. 

A  number  of  powerful  drugs  are  used  in  rebellious  cases 
of  circumscribed  baldness,  but  their  properties  should  be 
thoroughly  understood,  and  they  should  be  prescribed  and  their 
effect  watched  by  a  physician.  The  treatment  which  has  been 
outlined  is  generally  successful  with  young  patients.  Among 
all  patients  much  depends  upon  securing  the  general  health.  Not 
infrequently,  when  the  general  health  is  restored,  the  bald  spots 
rapidly  become  covered  with  a  healthy  growth  of  hair. 

GRAYNESS  OF  HAIR. 

With  advance  beyond  a  certain  age,  the  hair  generally  loses 
its  original  color,  becoming  at  first  gray  and  eventually  white. 
Whereas  this  is  the  general  law,  the  hair  sometimes  has  strange 

26 


4O2  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

freaks.  A  case  is  recorded  of  a  lady  whose  hair  blanched  in 
places  during  attacks  of  nervous  headache,  but  resumed  its 
original  color  upon  the  cessation  of  pain.  Tendency  to  become 
gray  in  early  life  is  not  infrequently  hereditary.  In  rare  in- 
stances grayness  of  the  hair  is  present  from  birth.  The  celebrated 
Timour,  the  Tartar,  is  reported  to  have  been  gray  almost  from 
the  cradle;  this  phenomenon  being  regarded  by  his  followers 
as  indicative  of  precocious  maturity.  Lamartine,  the  French  his- 
torian of  Turkey,  writes  of  him :  "These  white  hairs  on  the 
cheeks  of  twenty  set  off  the  lustre  of  his  complexion  and  im- 
pressed a  strange  but  rather  agreeable  than  ungraceful  character 
upon  his  beauty." 

Cases  in  grayness  are  met  with  in  which  a  single  tuft  of 
white  hair  is  inherited  for  generations.  Sir  Erasmus  Wilson 
mentions  a  peculiar  case  of  another  kind.  In  this,  the  original 
color  of  the  hair  was  brown.  The  loss  of  pigment  in  it  was  not 
continuous  throughout  each  hair-shaft,  but  occurred  in  segments, 
so  that  segments  of  white  and  brown  alternated,  as  in  a  porcu- 
pine's quills.  Sir  Erasmus  Wilson  mentions  the  case  of  a 
man  who  was  so  frightened,  in  anticipation  of  his  expected  exe- 
cution, that  the  color  of  his  hair  changed  to  white;  not  uni- 
formly, but  with  the  white  interspersed  among  hairs  of  the  red- 
dish cast  which  had  been  the  natural  color  of  his  head  of  hair. 

Cases  sometimes  occur  where  the  hair  of  old  persons  which 
has  long  been  white  assumes  a  dark  color.  It  is  said  that  both 
Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  and  Marie  Antoinette  turned  gray  within 
a  short  time.  It  is  even  alleged  that  the  hair  of  Sir  Thomas 
More  became  gray  during  the  night  preceding  his  execution,  and 
it  is  reported  of  a  Sepoy  prisoner  that  his  hair  turned  white 
within  half  an  hour. 

Among  the  albinoes  the  hair  is  generally  soft  and  white.  In 
all  persons,  when  the  pigment  of  the  hair  is  slight,  grayness  is 
produced ;  but  when  pigment  is  entirely  absent,  the  hair  is  neces- 
sarily white.  Grayness  may  begin  in  the  beard,  but  generally  it 
first  affects  the  hair  at  the  temples.  Gray  hair,  as  every  one 


THE    HAIR,    ITS    FASHIONS   AND   ITS   DISEASES.  403 

knows,  generally  denotes  the  flight  of  years,  and,  after  middle  age, 
is  accepted  by  most  persons  with  equanimity.  But  resignation 
should  really  have  no  place  in  the  sentiment  evoked,  if  the  lines 
of  the  face  betoken  age  for  in  that  case  the  influence  of  gray 
hair  in  conjunction  with  them  is  softening.  White  in  the  hair 
has  a  rejuvenating  effect  even  for  youth.  When  powdering  the 
hair  was  fashionable,  even  the  youthful  looked  still  more  youth- 
ful; the  tint  of  the  complexion  was  enhanced,  and  the  whole 
expression  beautified. 

A  tendency  to  grayness  can  sometimes  be  arrested  by  the 
administration  of  remedies  which  remove  the  cause  upon  which 
change  of  color  depends.  If,  however,  that  fails,  and  one  be 
dissatisfied  with  the  processes  of  nature,  coloring  the  hair  must 
be  resorted  to.  The  preparations  usually  employed  are  either 
of  vegetable  or  mineral  composition.  The  vegetable  kind  are 
generally  less  harmful  than  the  others,  while  the  effect  of  the 
mineral  kind  is  more  permanent.  The  oil  of  black  walnuts,  oil 
of  mace,  oil  of  chamomile,  and  oil  of  colocynth  are  all  used  for 
darkening  the  hair.  Frequently  washing  the  hair  with  a  tea 
made  from  sage  also  darkens  it.  Tannic  acid  or  gallic  acid,  in 
the  proportion  of  sixty  grains  of  the  acid  to  the  ounce  of  glycer- 
ine, oil,  or  lard,  will  communicate  a  dark  color. 

Skill  is  needed  in  the  application  of  hair-dyes.  As  a  pre- 
liminary the  hair  is  washed  with  soap  and  water  and  a  solution 
of  soda  or  spirits  of  ammonia  with  water.  After  being  well 
dried,  the  coloring  matter  is  applied.  The  most  efficient  vege- 
table dye  is  a  combination  of  the  powder  of  dry  henna  with  the 
powder  of  the  indigo  plant.  The  two  powders  are  mixed  sepa- 
rately with  water,  so  as  to  form  a  thick  paste.  The  henna  paste 
is  first  applied,  and  in  about  an  hour  turns  the  hair  to  a  red  color. 
The  indigo  paste  is  then  applied,  and  after  several  hours  the  hair 
is  washed  with  water,  when  it  is  found  to  be  stained  a  deep  black. 
The  formula  for  a  vegetable  dye  that  has  been  much  used  is 
the  following: — 


404  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

Green  black-walnut  hulls   4  ounces. 

Claret    8  ounces. 

Mix. 

The  most  active  mineral  dye  is  the  nitrate  of  silver,  used 
either  in  solution  or  in  the  form  of  an  ointment.  The  solution 
is  made  of  various  strengths,  from  fifteen  grains  to  the  ounce 
of  water,  to  sixty  grains  to  the  ounce  of  water.  After  the  hair 
has  been  washed  in  the  manner  previously  described,  the  oper- 
ator, holding  a  large  comb  in  the  left  hand,  raises  the  hair  in 
places  and  applies  the  dye  with  a  soft  tooth-brush  held  in  the 
right  hand,  the  brush  being  gently  moved  up  and  down  to  insure 
that  the  dye  is  well  applied  towards  the  roots  of  the  hair.  Rapid 
fanning  hastens  the  drying  of  the  solution.  If  a  drop  of  the 
dye  should  fall  upon  the  skin  it  can  be  removed  by  immediately 
sponging  the  spot  with  a  solution  of  common  table-salt  and  water. 
The  process  requires  from  two  to  three  hours  and  needs  repeat- 
ing every  month  or  two.  The  tint  is  deep  black. 

Light  shades  of  coloring  for  the  hair  are  produced  by  the 
application  of  rhubarb  or  of  turmeric.  The  most  efficient  bleach- 
ing agent  is  the  peroxide  of  hydrogen  or  hydrogen  dioxide. 
The  following  is  a  hair-bleaching  mixture: — 

Muriatic  acid 2  ounces. 

Water  of  ammonia   1  pint. 

Rose-water    2  ounces. 

Mix. 

HAIR-CURLING   FLUIDS. 

Carrageen  moss  %  ounce. 

Cologne    1  ounce. 

Extract  of  millefleur 1  ounce. 

Water    1  pint. 

Mix.  The  moss  is  allowed  to  swell  in  water  over  night,  is  then  heated 
until  it  dissolves,  and  is  then  strained,  perfumed,  and  colored  red  with  car- 
mine, or  yellow  with  tincture  of  saffron. 

Mucilage  of  gum-Arabic    2  ounces. 

Salts  of  tartar 1  ounce. 

Rose-water    1  %  pints. 

Orange-flower  water   4  ounces. 

Mix.     Color  with  carmine. 


THE    HAIR,    ITS    FASHIONS   AND    ITS   DISEASES.  405 

EXCESSIVE  HAIRINESS 

Very  strange,  mortifying  disfigurement  is  sometimes  occa- 
sioned by  a  great  growth  of  hair  in  unusual  situations  on  the 
body.  Extreme  cases  of  it  are  sometimes  seen  in  museums  under 
the  designation  "bearded  woman,"  or  "dog-faced  man."  Su- 
perabundant growth  of  hair  is  more  common  in  persons  of  a 
dark,  rather  than  of  a  light  complexion.  One  of  the  most  extra- 
ordinary instances  known  of  excessive  hariness  was  one  of  a 
Burman  who  was  covered  from  head  to  foot  with  hair  eight 
inches  long  upon  cheeks,  ears,  and  nose,  and  from  four  to  five 
inches  upon  the  breast  and  shoulders.  The  daughter  and  the 
grandchild  of  this  man  had  the  same  peculiarity.  Of  the 
daughter  and  grandchild,  Sir  Henry  Yule  wrote:  "To-day  we 
had  a  singular  visitor  at  the  Residency.  This  was  Maphoon,  the 
daughter  of  Shevemaong,  the  homo  hirsutus  described  and  de- 
picted in  Crawford's  narrative,  where  a  portrait  of  her  as  a  young 
child  also  appears.  Not  expecting  such  a  visitor,  one  started 
and  exclaimed  involuntarily  as  there  entered  what  at  first  sight 
seemed  an  absolute  realization  in  the  flesh  of  the  dog-headed 
Anubis. 

tt  "The  whole  of  Maphoon's  face  was  more  or  less  covered 
with  hair.  On  a  part  of  the  cheek  and  between  the  nose  and 
mouth  this  was  confined  to  a  short  down,  but  over  all  the  rest 
of  the  face  was  a  thick  silky  hair  of  a  brown  color,  about 
the  nose  and  chin,  four  or  five  inches  long.  On  the  alee  [the 
wings]  of  the  nose,  under  the  eye,  and  on  the  cheekbones,  this 
was  very  fully  developed;  but  it  was  in  and  on  the  ear  that  it 
was  most  extraordinary.  Except  the  extreme  upper  tip,  no  part 
of  the  ear  was  visible.  All  the  rest  was  filled  with  and  veiled  by  a 
large  mass  of  silky  hair,  growing  apparently  out  of  every  part 
of  the  external  organ,  and  hanging  in  a  dependent  lock  to  a 
length  of  eight  or  ten  inches.  The  hair  over  her  forehead  was 
brushed  so  as  to  blend  with  the  hair  of  the  head,  the  latter  being 
dressed  (as  usual  with  her  countrywomen)  a  la  Chinoise,  It 
was  not  so  thick  as  to  conceal  altogether  her  forehead. 


406  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

"The  nose  was  densely  covered  with  hair,  as  no  animal's  is 
that  I  know  of,  and  with  long,  fine  locks  curving  out  and  pen- 
dant like  the  wisps  of  a  fine  skye  terrier's  coat,  had  a  most  strange 
appearance.  The  beard  was  pale  in  color  and  about  four  inches 

in  length,  seemingly  very  soft  and  silky Her  neck, 

bosom,  and  arms  appeared  to  be  covered  with  a  fine,  pale  down, 

scarcely  visible  in  some  lights Her  husband  and  two 

boys  accompanied  her.  The  elder  boy,  about  four  or  five  years 
old,  had  nothing  abnormal  about  him.  The  youngest,  who  was 
fourteen  months  old,  and  still  at  the  breast,  was  evidently  taking 
after  his  mother.  There  was  little  hair  on  the  head;  but  the 
child's  ear  was  full  of  long,  silky  floss,  and  he  could  boast  of 
a  mustache  and  beard  of  pale,  silky  down,  that  would  have 
cheered  the  heart  of  many  a  coronet.  In  fact,  the  appearance 
of  the  child  agrees  almost  exactly  with  what  Crawford  says 
of  Maphoon  herself  as  an  infant. 

"This  child  is  thus  the  third  in  descent  exhibiting  this 
strange  peculiarity,  and  in  this  third  generation,  as  in  the  two 
preceding,  this  peculiarity  has  appeared  only  in  one  individual." 

The  preceding  case  of  abnormal  hairiness  is  as  extraordin- 
ary as  one  can  possibly  be.  There  was  a  similar  one  in  that  of 
Julia  Pastrana,  exhibited  in  London  many  years  ago.  One  of  less 
intensity  appeared  many  years  ago  in  this  country,  in  which  a 
mother  and  child  had  profuse  beards.  Nevertheless,  it  is  not 
uncommon  to  find  individual  unnoted  men  so  covered  with  a 
short  growth  of  hair  that,  at  a  short  distance,  the  body  presents 
a  bearlike  aspect.  Sometimes  women  have  a  very  decided  man- 
like growth  of  mustache,  which,  by  the  way,  they  have  some- 
times been  so  injudicious  as  habitually  to  shave,  with  the  inevit- 
able result  of  increasing  the  thickness  of  the  individual  hairs  and 
thus  making  the  deformity,  shaved  or  unshaved,  still  more  visible. 
There  is  one  and  only  one  remedy  for  this  deformity,  which,  in 
the  case  of  a  woman,  is  a  real  affliction.  The  galvanic  needles, 
used  at  the  root  of  each  individual  hair,  extirpate  it,  because  the 
roots  are  thereby  destroyed.  It  is  a  comparatively  painless 


THE    HAIR,    ITS    FASHIONS    AND    ITS    DISEASES.  407 

operation  that  is  needed  to  receive  in  return  the  boon  of  removal 
of  feminine  unsightliness ;  the  slight  pang  of  a  moment  for  the 
removal  of  each  hair,  and  all  is  over. 

Growth  of  hair  may  be  excessive  either  as  to  length  or  as 
to  profuseness.  It  may  affect  only  those  portions  of  the  body 
upon  which  hair  naturally  grows,  or  it  may  include  places  which 
are  ordinarily  bare.  Excessive  hairiness  may  first  appear  after 
recovering  from  a  severe  fever.  It  sometimes  occurs  in  insane 
persons  after  injury  to  the  nerves,  resulting  in  paralyzed  parts 
of  the  body.  Sometimes  the  employment  of  irritating  substances 
on  the  skin  will  excite  an  unusual  growth  of  hair. 

If  hairiness  affect  only  a  small  area,  as,  for  instance,  the 
surface  of  a  mole,  it  can  easily  be  removed  by  the  electric  needles, 
in  which  case  the  mole  itself  will  be  extirpated.  It  is  sometimes 
a  matter  of  surprise  for  those  conversant  with  the  ease  and 
efficaciousness  with  which  this  operation  can  be  performed,  to 
see  women  of  a  certain  age  and  condition  allow  the  blemishes 
of  hair  or  moles  to  remain  upon  their  faces.  What  may,  in 
the  case  of  a  young  girl,  be  a  mere  "beauty-spot"  of  a  flat  mole, 
often  becomes  with  age  a  pendant  tear  of  brown  flesh,. 

When  abnormal  hairiness  includes  a  large  area,  again  the 
galvanic  needles  afford  the  best  method  of  getting  rid  of  it. 
Lest  the  reader  should  imagine,  despite  the  previous  assurance 
that  they  involve  only  a  slight  operation,  that  it  is  more  serious 
than  represented  here,  it  will  now  be  described.  Two  little 
platinum  needles,  as  sharp  as  cambric  ones,  are  attached  respec- 
tively to  the  rheophores  (the  electrically  conducting  cords)  of  a 
galvanic  battery.  The  needles  are,  first  of  all,  painlessly  (their 
sharpness  secures  that)  passed  into  opposite  sides  of  the  root 
of  a  hair  or  the  base  of  a  mole.  Then  a  very  light  current  of 
electricity  is  turned  on  to  them  for  a  second ;  the  patient  experi- 
ences a  trifling  sensation  of  prickling,  and  all  is  over.  Some- 
times the  needle  of  only  the  negative  pole  is  made  to  pierce  the 
point  to  be  treated,  and  then  the  patient  seizes  with  one  hand  a 
moist  sponge  attached  to  the  positive  pole,  and  thus  himself  com- 


408  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

pletes  the  circuit  of  electricity  which  in  a  moment  kills  hair  or 
mole.  Of  course  the  number  of  treatments  necessary  to  eradi- 
cate hair  over  an  extensive  surface  will  depend  upon  the  extent 
of-  that  surface.  If  very  many  individual  hairs  have  been  re- 
moved at  a  sitting  the  general  surface  will  have  become  irritated, 
but  this  can  be  relieved  by  the  action  of  cocaine.  If  swelling 
of  the  part  should  supervene  after  an  operation,  a  water-dress- 
ing to  it  or  of  zinc  ointment  will  relieve  the  inflammation. 

Some  caustic  substances  are  able  to  destroy  hair  by  obliterat- 
ing the  follicles  and  papillae  of  the  hair.  But  they  are  not  to  be 
recommended,  because,  when  strong,  they  produce  not  only  too 
great  inflammation,  but  also  scarring.  A  formula  for  a  depila- 
tory (destroyer  of  hair)  is  the  following: — 

Sulphide  of  barium   3  drachms. 

Oxide  of  zinc    2  drachms. 

Arrow-root  powder   2  drachms. 

Mix. 

ATROPHY  OF  THE   HAIR. 

Atrophy  of  the  hair  involves  in  it  structural  change,  the 
thickness  of  each  individual  hair's  diameter  becoming  either 
decreased  or  increased  throughout  the  whole  or  only  part  of  its 
length.  Bulbous  swellings  sometimes  appear  at  a  single  or  at 
irregular  intervals.  These  swellings  may  have  a  dark  or  a 
shiny  appearance,  and  the  hair  is  liable  to  break  off  there  with  a 
ragged  end.  In  some  cases  the  hairs  at  the  points  of  thickening 
are  alternately  bright  and  dark,  producing  a  beaded  appearance. 
This  form  of  the  disease  generally  attacks  the  mustache  and 
beard,  but  may  occur  upon  the  back  of  the  head  or  upon  other 
parts  of  the  body.  In  other  cases  the  hair  becomes  very  brittle 
and  easily  splits  and  breaks.  It  may  be  rough,  thin,  or  flat.  The 
changes  may  occur  within  the  hairbed,  before  the  shaft  of  the 
hair  has  emerged,  and  the  hairs  there  curled  up  may  give  rise  to 
much  irritation.  The  ragged  ends  may  excite  suspicion  of  the 
presence  of  ringworm,  but  in  ringworm  the  inflamed  patches 
have  a  circular  form, 


THE    HAIR,    ITS    FASHIONS   AND    ITS    DISEASES.  409 

Atrophy  of  the  hair  may  be  due  either  to  local  or  to  consti- 
tutional causes.  It  may  follow  fever  or  other  debilitating  dis- 
ease. Tetter,  oily  disease,  or  other  affection  of  the  skin  may 
also  produce  it.  For  its  treatment  the  first  object  to  be  achieved 
is  to  try  to  discover  its  cause.  If  this  can  be  accomplished  there 
will  be  reason  to  hope  for  the  restoration  of  the  hair  to  a  healthy 
condition.  In  most  cases  the  general  health  is  impaired,  and 
therefore  constitutional  remedies,  tonics,  such  as  iron  and  cod- 
liver-oil  would  be  beneficial.  The  direct  treatment  of  the  af- 
fected hair  usually  yields  the  best  results.  The  broken,  ragged 
ends  should  be  plucked  out  by  the  roots.  If  only  a  few  hairs 
are  affected,  an  ointment  containing  ten  per  cent,  of  the  oleate 
of  mercury,  rubbed  upon  the  parts  once  or  twice  a  day,  will  pro- 
mote their  nutrition  and  their  restoration  to  a  healthy  growth. 
If  a  large  number  of  hairs  are  diseased  the  best  treatment  con- 
sists in  clipping  off  the  ragged  ends,  or  else  in  cutting  off  the 
hair  to  the  scalp.  The  ointment  just  mentioned  is  then  applied. 

Lanolin  is  very  useful  for  improving  the  nutrition  of  the 
hair.  An  ointment  of  the  nitrate  of  mercury,  or  one  of  ammoni- 
ated  mercury,  thirty  to  sixty  grains  to  the  ounce  of  lard,  is  a 
good  application.  The  following  one  has  been  found  service- 
able : — 

Oil  of  nutmeg    2  drachms. 

Oil  of  chamomile    2  drachms. 

Fluid  oleates  of  mercury    ( 10  per  cent. )........  2  ounces. 

Oil  of  verbena   10  drops. 

Oil  of  rose   2  drops. 

Oil  of  ergot   •  .  .  2%  ounces. 

Mix. 

The  stimulating  remedies  here  previously  described  as  ser- 
viceable in  the  treatment  of  baldness  may  also  do  good  in  cases 
of  atrophy  of  the  hair.  When  the  hair  is  the  subject  of  bulbous 
swellings  along  its  shafts,  perhaps  the  best  application  of  all  is 
the  tincture  of  cantharides  (Spanish-fly).  The  affection  is  very 
apt  to  be  obstinate,  especially  in  the  cases  of  persons  advanced 
in  years, 


CHAPTER     XIX. 
THE  NAILS  AND  THEIR  DISEASES. 

THE  nails  being  appendages  of  the  scarf-skin,  merely  a  modi- 
fied form  of  it,  deriving  their  sustenance  from  the  upper 
portion  of  the  true  skin,  suffer  in  consequence  of  general 
disease  or  of  a  depressed  condition  of  the  system.  When  the 
blood  is  impoverished  and  its  red  corpuscles  are  diminished  in 
number,  constituting  the  condition  known  as  anaemia,  the  nails, 
as  well  as  the  mucous  membranes  and  skin,  assume  a  pallid 
hue.  In  chlorosis  (green  sickness),  the  nails,  instead  of  looking 
pink,  as  they  do  in  health,  are  very  pale.  They  look  even  deadly 
white  in  leukaemia,  a  disease  characterized  by  an  immense  pre- 
ponderance of  the  white  over  the  red  corpuscles  of  the  blood.  In 
a  variety  of  anaemia  called  progressive,  pernicious  anaemia,  the 
nails  are  apt  to  become  thickened  and  crack  and  crumble  at  the 
ends.  In  scurvy,  haemorrhages  may  occur  beneath  the  nails  and 
there  excite  inflammation  of  their  beds,  with  consequent  loss  of 
the  nails.  In  diabetes  mcllitus  a  total  loss  of  nails  is  not  unusual, 
and  cases  occur  in  the  disease  where  this  is  one  of  the  first  symp- 
toms of  its  attack.  Nails  may  drop  off  simply  from  failure  of 
their  proper  nutrition.  Their  loss  may  also  be  caused  by  inflam- 
mation under  and  around  them.  Serious  organic  diseases  of  the 
nervous  system  may  cause  shedding  of  the  nails. 

Nails  are  sometimes  reduced  to  mere  horny  plates  upon  the 
fingers,  or  they  may  become  curved  in  such  a  manner  as  to  re- 
semble talons.  In  some  cases  they  become  thick,  hard,  or  crossed 
by  ridges  and  furrows.  In  others  they  are  marked  by  milk-white 
patches.  These  are  sometimes  arranged  in  the  form  of  trans- 
verse bands,  so  that  the  nail  presents  alternating  stripes  of  pink 
and  white.  Again,  the  nails  sometimes  become  black,  die,  and 
fall  off.  Hysteria  and  extreme  "fright  sometimes  lead  to  spon- 
taneous shedding  of  the  nails.  In  chronic  rheumatism  they  may 
410 


THE    NAILS    AND    THEIR    DISEASES.  41 1 

become  thickened,  rough,  or  furrowed.  Spontaneous  shedding 
of  the  nails  sometimes  takes  place  without  obvious  impairment 
of  the  general  health,  and,  at  times,  very  strangely,  this  loss 
occurs  at  periodic  intervals.  A  similar  phenomenon  has  been 
known  to  follow  typhoid  fever.  A  more  common  occurrence  in 
typhoid  fever  is,  however,  the  crossing  of  the  nails  by  transverse 
bands  or  furrows.  The  part  of  the  nail  which  grows  during 
the  fever  is  thinner  than  the  following  growth  of  healthy  nail, 
and  is  also  rough  and  of  a  dull  white.  Typhus  fever  also  causes 
white  bands  or  furrows  on  the  nails.  After  scarlet  fever  and 
small-pox  the  nails  may  be  shed,  or  else  they  may  have  become 
grooved.  White  bands  or  furrows  occur  upon  the  nails  after 
inflammatory  rheumatism.  In  gout  the  nails  may  lose  their 
polish  and  have  a  tendency  to  split  and  break.  Sea-sickness, 
diarrhoea,  and  nervous  exhaustion  may  produce  furrows  upon 
the  nails.  In  consumption  they  often  become  thick,  curved,  and 
clubbed.  In  scrofula  they  are  sometimes  enlarged,  deeply 
grooved,  and  are  of  a  firm,  horny  consistency. 

Malignant  onychia  is  a  serious  inflammation  of  the  bed  of 
the  nails,  and  sometimes  occurs  in  scrofulous  children.  It  usu- 
ally attacks  a  finger-nail.  For  three  or  four  weeks  before  the 
manifestation  of  inflammation  the  end  of  the  finger  is  very  pain- 
ful. Eventually  a  swelling  appears  beneath  the  end  of  the  nail, 
increases,  and  an  obstinate  ulcer  is  formed  there.  This  ulcer, 
at  first  situated  under  the  free  edge  of  the  nail,  gradually 
spreads  backward  until  it  involves  the  whole  bed  of  the  nail.  It 
bleeds  easily,  and  its  discharge  is  of  an  unhealthy  and  offensive 
character.  The  nail  becomes  of  a  brownish  or  black  color,  and 
is  loosened  by  the  ulceration.  It  may  come  off  altogether,  or 
may  come  away  in  fragments.  It  does  not,  however,  always 
fall,  but  sometimes  continues  to  grow  in  a  distorted  shape, 
being  apt  to  point  directly  upward.  The  end  of  the  finger  hav- 
ing become  enlarged,  the  nail  also  may  be  enlarged  and  curved. 
The  surrounding  skin  is  hard,  shiny,  and  of  a  purplish  color. 
This  disease  is,  fortunately,  not  very  common;  but  it  is  of  a 


412  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

very  obstinate  character  when  it  does  occur,  the  ulcer  mani- 
festing no  disposition  to  heal  and  sometimes  continuing  for 
years.  Patients  suffering  from  it  require  constitutional  treat- 
ment by  codliver-oil,  syrup  of  iron,  compound  syrup  of  the 
hypophosphites,  etc.  An  operation  is  needed  for  the  removal 
of  the  diseased  nail.  The  ulcer  is  treated  by  covering  it  with 
some  antiseptic  agent,  such  as  iodoform,  aristol,  europhen,  or 
by  a  mixture  of  aristol  and  europhen,  or  powdered  red  cinchona 
bark. 

Disease  of  the  nails  may  be  caused  by  injury,  by  the  ex- 
tension of  some  disease  of  the  skin  to  the  bed  of  the  nails,  or 
by  parasitic  invasion.  The  most  common  affection  is  from 
ingrowing  nails,  which  is,  however,  only  a  variety  of  overgrowth 
of  the  nail.  In  overgrowth  of  the  nail,  the  nail  may  be  unduly 
increased  in  length,  thickness,  or  width ;  and  it  may  be  increased 
at  the  same  time  in  all  three  of  those  dimensions,  and,  in  conse- 
quence, secondary  changes  may  result.  When  the  nail  grows  to 
an  inordinate  length  it  may  curve  downward  and  form  a  very 
close  resemblance  to  a  claw.  Increase  in  width,  which  is  more 
common  than  the  other  kinds,  making  encroachment  of  the  nail 
upon  its  fleshy  borders,  causes  very  painful  inflammation.  The 
soft  flesh  may  swell,  matter  may  form,  and  an  ulcer  may  be 
developed.  Occasionally  the  affection  has  been  so  severe  as  to 
attack  the  bone  of  the  toe.  In  another  form  of  overgrowth 
the  nail  is  extremely  thickened,  is,  as  a  whole  or  in  part,  elevated 
from  its  bed,  and  becomes  a  deformity  and  source  of  great  dis- 
comfort if  the  great  toe  happens  to  be  the  part  attacked.  When 
it  is  the  finger-nail  that  is  involved  the  sensibility  of  touch  is  lost, 
and  it  becomes  impossible  for  the  sufferer  to  perform  any  oper- 
ation requiring  nicety  of  manipulation.  The  upper  surface  of  the 
nail  is  discolored  and  may  be  opaque,  streaked,  yellowish,  brown- 
ish, or  black,  may  be  uneven  or  marked  by  ridges  and  furrows. 
The  lower  surface  is  apt  to  be  brittle  and  of  a  dirty  brown  color. 
The  consistency  of  the  nail  may  be  altered,  may  be  thicker  or 
thinner,  harder  or  softer,  tougher  or  more  brittle  than  in  the 
state  of  health, 


THE   NAILS   AND   THEIR  DISEASES.  413 

Inflammation  of  the  bed  of  the  nail  may  lead  to  alteration  in 
the  intimate  structure  of  the  nail.  There  are  varieties  of  this 
inflammation  which  attack  artisans.  Confectioners,  and  espe- 
cially makers  of  candied  fruits,  suffer  from  an  affection  caused 
by  dipping  the  finger  ends  into  sweet,  sour,  and  hot  solutions. 
The  nails  become  dry,  dark,  and  brittle,  and  are  shed  in  the 
form  of  little  chips. 

Strange  growths  of  the  nails  have  been  recorded.  Some- 
times two  nails  have  grown  upon  the  same  finger  or  upon  the 
same  toe.  A  nail  may  be  found  in  a  most  unnatural  situation,  as 
upon  the  shoulder,  or  upon  the  stump  of  an  amputated  limb. 

Overgrowth  of  the  nails  may  affect  a  single  one  of  them, 
several,  or  the  whole  of  them.  It  is  more  common  upon  the 
toes  than  upon  the  fingers.  The  affection  sometimes  dates  from 
birth,  but,  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases,  is  acquired  in  later  life. 
It  is  due  partially  to  carelessness  in  the  treatment  of  the  parts. 
Certain  diseases  of  the  skin  and  of  the  general  system  also  ex- 
cite overgrowth.  The  affection  is  most  common  in  old  age. 

When  the  disease  has  been  produced  by  another,  remedies 
appropriate  to  the  original  one  must  be  administered.  Tonics 
and  constitutional  remedies  generally  improve  the  health  of  the 
nails.  The  excessive  growth  may  be  carefully  removed  by  a 
knife.  Paring  the  free  edge  of  the  nails  and  pressing  back  the 
fold  of  skin  which  envelops  their  base  and  sides  tends  to  restrict 
the  nails  to  proper  growth.  In  mild  cases  this  treatment,  to- 
gether with  the  application  of  a  soothing  or  an  astringent  oint- 
ment, will  suffice  to  effect  a  cure.  An  ointment  containing  the 
oleate  of  tin  or  of  lead  has  been  found  most  serviceable.  If  the 
edge  of  the  nail  be  brittle,  it  may  be  protected  by  wax  or  gum. 
An  ointment  of  salicylic  acid  also  serves  a  good  purpose.  If  the 
affection  be  due  to  an  invasion  of  fungus  parasites,  the  use  of 
water  upon  the  part  affected  must  be  intermitted  for  a  while,  for 
water  is  favorable  to  their  growth  and  multiplication.  If  the 
affection  be  known  to  be  parasitic,  the  employment  of  oleate  of 
mercury  or  of  copper  ointments  is  advisable.  If  the  soft  parts 


414  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

are  very  red  and  swollen,  it  is  well  to  relieve  them  of  the  sur- 
charge of  blood  by  puncturing,  by  leeching,  or  by  paring  off 
the  diseased  tissue,  after  which  they  can  be  treated  with  a  sooth- 
ing lotion. 

Ingrowing  nails  can,  in  an  early  stage  of  the  affection,  be 
relieved  by  gently  introducing  a  pledget  of  absorbent  cotton  be- 
tween the  nail  and  the  fold  of  the  skin  by  which  it  is  surrounded. 
By  this  process  the  edge  of  the  nail  is  gradually  raised  and  can 
at  last  be  cut  off  without  causing  pain.  If  the  soft  parts  of 
the  skin  are  very  irritable,  a  solution  of  cocaine  can  be  used  to 
blunt  their  sensibility  before  the  pledget  of  cotton  is  put  in 
place.  When  the  case  is  more  advanced,  when  the  great  toe  is 
swollen  and  painful,  a  stick  of  nitrate  of  silver  applied  to  the 
affected  surface  at  the  inner  border  of  the  toe  affords  decided 
relief.  The  cotton  pledget  can  then  be  worked  under  the  fold  of 
skin  surrounding  the  nail  in  the  manner  already  described.  By 
this  method  the  nail  is  saved,  the  patient  avoids  an  operation,  and 
is  not  compelled  to  give  up  his  usual  pursuits. 

Another  affection  of  the  nails  is  atrophy.  They  become 
small,  thin,  brittle,  and  easily  bent  or  broken.  Their  surface  may 
be  smooth  and  present  no  alteration  in  appearance,  or  it  may 
be  opaque,  cracked,  and  yellow.  The  condition  may  be  present  at 
birth  or  it  may  arrive  at  any  age.  When  it  occurs  at  birth,  it 
is  generally  accompanied  by  an  imperfect  development  of  the 
finger-ends  and  by  the  absence  of  hair.  Deficient  growth  of  the 
nails  may  be  caused  by  fevers,  nervous  and  other  constitutional 
diseases,  or  by  any  adverse  local  condition  which  affects  the  nail- 
bed,  and,  consequently,  the  nutrition  of  the  nail.  It  may  be 
produced  by  injury,  and  it  may  even  follow  a  preceding  excessive 
growth  of  nail.  The  nails  may  crumble  away  almost  entirely  and 
be  represented  only  by  layers  looking  like  parchment.  In  chil- 
dren the  bed  of  the  nail  sometimes  becomes  swollen  and  painful, 
and  the  nail  itself  raised,  when  it  breaks  and  almost  or  entirely 
disappears.  This  form  of  atrophy  of  the  nails  attacks  several 
nails  in  succession,  and  all  of  them  may  eventually  become  in- 


THE    NAILS   AND   THEIR   DISEASES.  415 

volved..  If  it  be  possible  to  discover  the  cause  of  the  defective 
growth,  measures  should  be  adopted  for  its  removal.  If  the 
nails  affected  are  painful  and  their  condition  interferes  with  the 
occupation  of  the  sufferer,  an  ointment  of  the  oleate  of  lead  or 
of  zinc  and  the  use  of  protective  wax  or  gum  over  them  will 
be  useful.  The  application  of  olive-oil,  codliver-oil,  oleate  of 
mercury  ointment,  or  mercurial  plaster  will  sometimes  excite 
towards  a  healthy  growth. 

Tetter  of  the  nails  is  a  disease  which  generally  proceeds  from 
tetter  of  the  hands  and  ringers.  The  skin  around  the  sides  of 
the  nails  becomes  red  and  thickened,  the  nails  lose  their  natural 
polish  and  become  rough  and  uneven.  They  may  become  very 
thin  and  brittle,  and  may  even  assume  a  worm-eaten  appearance. 
After  a  while  they  become  broken  and  are  shed,  and  those  which 
are  reproduced  may  become  gradually  of  a  healthy  and  natural 
appearance  as  the  disease  subsides.  Whether  situated  upon  the 
hands  or  upon  remote  parts  of  the  body,  tetter  usually  induces 
an  impaired  nutrition  of  the  nails  without  great  alteration  in  their 
structure.  In  exceptional  cases  eczema  is  strictly  confined  to 
the  nails.  In  these  cases  there  may  be  redness,  swelling,  moisture 
of  the  surrounding,  skin,  or  it  may  be  dry  from  beginning  to 
end.  In  the  case  of  its  dryness,  the  nail  is  roughened  and  thick- 
ened, and  fissures  run  along  it  lengthwise  or  across.  Sometimes 
the  nail  becomes  exceedingly  arched,  and  sometimes  it  is  shed. 
Although  no  other  part  of  the  body  may  be  at  the  same  time 
affected,  it  is  thus  proved,  in  these  cases,  that  the  person  attacked 
must  have  previously  suffered  from  tetter.  The  best  application 
for  atrophy  of  the  nails  is  an  ointment  of  oleate  of  tin.  Sali- 
cylic acid,  dissolved  in  alcohol,  and  used  as  a  lotion,  or  made 
into  an  ointment,  is  a  useful  dressing.  Of  course,  constitutional 
treatment  should  accompany  the  local  one. 

The  same  parasite  which  produces  ringworm  of  the  body 
occasionally  penetrates  the  substance  of  the  nail.  The  involved 
structure  becomes,  in  consequence,  dry,  opaque,  and  brittle,  is 
more  or  less  thickened  and  distorted,  and  is  apt  to  be  shed  in 


416  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

layers.  In  exceptional  instances  ringworm  of  the  nail  occurs  in 
the  absence  of  the  disease  of  ringworm  upon  other  portions  of 
the  body.  In  such,  it  is  acquired  by  adults  in  taking  care  of  chil- 
dren suffering  from  the  disease  as  located  upon  the  scalp.  As  a 
general  rule,  however,  ringworm  of  the  nails  occurs  as  a  conse- 
quence of  ringworm  on  the  body  of  the  individual  sufferer,  and 
the  parasite  does  not  usually  attack  the  nails. 

It  is  well  to  repeat,  lest  it  be  forgotten,  that,  in  parasitic 
disease,  water  should  be  used  on  the  parts  affected  as  little  as 
possible.  The  diseased  portions  should  be,  whenever  feasible, 
removed  by  the  knife,  and  the  surface  uncovered  treated  with  a 
ten  to  twenty  per  cent,  ointment  of  the  oleate  of  mercury  until 
the  diseased  part  of  the  nail  has  been  entirely  shed.  It  is  some- 
times advantageous  to  employ  the  ointment  of  the  oleate  of 
copper  or  of  tin,  alternately  with  the  oleate  of  mercury.  Paring 
away  the  nail  is  facilitated  by  softening  it  with  a  solution  of 
potash  and  water. 


CHAPTER    XX. 
COSMETIC  PREPARATIONS. 

COSMETIC  preparations  as  known  to  the  world  profess 
to  improve  the  skin  and  thus  beautify  the  complexion. 
It  follows,  of  course,  that  there  must  be  at  least  some  of 
them  which  are  useless  to  that  end,  even  if  not  injurious.  What- 
ever goodness  any  of  them  possess  is  entirely  due  to  their  direct 
action  upon  the  health  of  the  skin,  but  this  function  also  depends 
upon  the  activity  of  the  nervous  system  and  the  purity  of  the 
blood.  The  hygienic  methods  for  securing  pure  blood  and  a 
clear  complexion  have  been  amply  dwelt  upon  in  the  preceding 
chapters.  If  the  laws  of  health  be  transgressed,  the  skin,  com- 
plexion, and  beauty  must  suffer,  despite  all  the  cosmetics  in  the 
world.  If,  however,  the  chief  sources  of  beauty  have  been  re- 
garded by  following  a  rational  course  of  life,  there  can  be  no 
objection  to  the  use  of  certain  ones  among  preparations  for  the 
toilet  which  serve  merely  to  conceal  blemishes  and  enhance 
physical  charms.  It  need  hardly  be  added  that  such  prepara- 
tions must  be  far  from  injurious  to  the  skin  either  from  their 
constituents  or  their  strength.  Many  preparations  sold  and  used 
are  gradually  injurious  to  the  skin,  which  they  render  rough  and 
harsh,  and  some  are  even  injurious  to  the  general  health,  their 
poisonous  ingredients  being  absorbed  through  the  skin  by  the 
blood.  ^ 

There  are,  as  every  one  knows,  external  conditions  which 
may  mar  the  sightliness  of  the  healthiest  skin.  Immoderate  heat 
or  cold,  the  bites  or  stings  of  insects  are  causes  continually  pres- 
ent, and  these  are  effectually  combated  by  means  of  various 
combinations  for  application  to  the  skin.  Among  cosmetic  prep- 
arations are  naturally  included  tooth-powder  and  tooth-lotions, 
dentrifices  of  all  sorts,  the  habitual  use  of  which  sensibly  en- 
hances the  beauty  of  the  teeth,  and  to  these  must  be  added  prep- 
arations that  impart  curl  and  lustre  to  the  hair. 

n  417 


4l8  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

The  following  recipes  are  drawn  from  my  own  experience 
and  the  various  authorities  recognized  as  among  the  best  in  the 
world. 

Ointments  and  Pomatums. 

Fatty  preparations*  are,  to  a  certain  extent,  food  for  the 
skin,  and  are  promotive  of  its  health.  Excepting  in  moderate 
quantity  for  the  scalp  and  hair,  they  cannot  be  used  save  at 
night.  But  at  night,  just  before  retiring,  the  face,  the  hands, 
protected  by  gloves,  may  be  usefully  treated  with  fatty  prepara- 
tions. Among  them  nothing  is  more  bland  and  soothing  than 
cold  cream.  The  following  formula  represents  a  very  fine  and 
what  druggists  call  elegant  preparation  of  this  household  remedy 
for  many  applications  to  children  and  grown  persons: — 

COLD  CREAM. 

Oil  of  sweet  almonds 26  ounces. 

Odorless  castor-oil    6  ounces. 

Pure  benzoated  lard  8  ounces. 

Genuine  white  wax 8  ounces. 

Rose-water  (in  winter  less,  in  summer  more,  than 
amount  named)     12  ounces. 

Orange-flower    water    8  ounces. 

Oil  of  rose   !/•»  ounce. 

Extract   of  jasmine    6  drachms. 

Extract  of  cassia    4  drachms. 

Powdered   borax 2  ounces. 

Pure  glycerine   4  ounces. 

Mix.  Melt  the  oil  of  sweet  almonds  and  the  lard  together  and  stir  in 
the  castor-oil.  Make  a  solution  of  the  borax  in  the  glycerine,  rose,  and  orange 
waters,  and  add  this  solution  gradually  to  the  melted  fats,  stirring  constantly 
to  ensure  the  thorough  incorporation  of  all  the  ingredients.  Finally,  add  the 
oil  of  rose,  dissolved  in  the  extracts,  and  beat  up  the  ointment  until  cold. 

With  cold  cream  prepared  in  the  preceding  manner  as  one 
of  its  constituents,  a  fatty  application  for  the  skin  can  be  pre- 
pared as  follows: — 


*  For  further  information  on  fatty  preparations,  see  author's  work  on 
"Ointments  and  Oleates,"  second  edition,  F.  A.  Davis,  publisher,  Philadelphia, 
Pa.,  1890. 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS.  419 

Cold   cream    1  pound. 

Glycerine     4  drachms. 

Best  carmine   6  grains. 

Mix.  Rub  the  carmine  well  into  the  glycerine,  and  then  incorporate  them 
with  the  cold  cream. 

Another  formula  for  cold  cream  is  the  following: — 

Spermaceti    3  ounces. 

White  wax   1  ounce. 

Oil  of  almonds 8  ounces 

Borax     y2  ounce. 

Glycerine 2  ounces. 

Rose-water    2  ounces. 

Oil  of  rose 10  minims. 

Extract  of  jasmine  %  ounce 

Mix.  Mix  the  wax,  oil  of  almonds  and  spermaceti,  and  melt  at  a  low 
heat.  Dissolve  the  borax  in  the  glycerine  and  rose-water  previously  mixed. 
Pour  this  solution  gradually,  and  with  constant  stirring,  into  the  melted  mix- 
ture until  the  product  becomes  snow-white.  Then  add  the  perfume. 

The  formulae  for  the  making-  of  cold  cream  are  various. 
The  following  ones  are  taken  from  "The  Pharmaceutical  Jour- 
nal" . 

COLD   CREAM. 

White  wax    3  ounces. 

Spermaceti    3  ounces. 

Almond-oil 16  ounces. 

Rose-water    8  ounces. 

Otto  of  rose   20  drops. 

Mix. 

COLD  CREAM    (VASELINE). 

Vaseline     14  ounces. 

Paraffine    1  ounce. 

Lanolin    4  ounces. 

Otto  of  rose   •     5  drops. 

Vanilla    4  grains. 

Rectified   spirits    2  drachms. 

Water    6  ounces. 

Mix. 

COLD   CREAM. 

White  wax   2  ounces. 

Spermaceti    3  ounces. 

Almond-oil    8  ounces. 

Prepared  lard    5  ounces. 

Water    6  ounces. 

Otto  of  rose   • 10  drops. 

Oil  of  bergamot    10  drops. 

Mix. 


42O  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

There  is  a  similar  preparation  to  this  made  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  cotton-seed  oil,  as  follows: — 

COLD   CREAM. 

Cotton-seed  oil    15  ounces. 

Spermaceti    3%  ounces. 

White  wax    3%  ounces. 

Oil  of   lavender-flowers    12  drops. 

Rose-water    7%  ounces. 

Mix. 

CREAM   OF   NUTS    (CREME   DE   NOUVEAUX). 

Bitter  almonds    (blanched  and  beaten) 1  ounce. 

Proof  spirits    10  ounces. 

Sugar 4  ounces. 

Mix.     This  preparation  is  sometimes  colored  with  cochineal. 

COLD    CREAM     ( VIOLET). 

Oil  of  violets   • 2  pints. 

Violet-water   2  pints. 

Wax 2  ounces. 

Spermaceti    2  ounces. 

Oil  of  bitter  almonds 10  drops. 

Mix. 

The  composition  of  cold  cream  may  be  further  modified  as 
follows : — 

CAMPHOR  COLD  CREAM    (  CAMPHOR-ICE)  . 

Oil  of  almonds 2  pints. 

Rose-water    2  pints. 

Wax  2  ounces. 

Camphor   4  ounces. 

Oil  of  rosemary  2  drachms. 

Mix.  . 

Another  recipe  for  cold  cream  of  the  form  of  a  camphor- 
ice  is  as  follows: — 

CAMPHOR-ICE. 

White  vaseline 8  ounces. 

Hard  paraffine  5  ounces. 

Camphor   2  ounces. 

Mix.    This  is  an  excellent  application  for  chapped  hands,  fever  blisters,  etc. 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS.  421 

CREAM  SHAMPOO. 

Shredded  fine  white  soap   y2  ounce. 

Rose-water    1  ounce. 

Solution  of  ammonia   1  ounce. 

Alcohol  or  bay  rum  y2  ounce. 

Rain-water    8  ounces. 

Mix.  Dissolve  the  soap  in  the  heated  rain-wat^r.  When  nearly  cool  add 
the  ammonia,  rose-water,  and  the  alcohol,  stirring  constantly. 

COLD    CREAM     (HONEY-AND-ALMOND). 

Cold  cream .       5  parts. 

Oil  of  sweet  almonds 5  parts. 

Glycerine     5  parts. 

Boric  acid   5  parts. 

Solution  of  soda   2  parts. 

Mucilage  of  quince  seed  (2  drachms  to  a  pint)  ...     25  parts. 

Oil  of  bitter  almonds  and  oil  of  rose   (enough  to 
'  perfume ) . 

Water  enough  to  make   200  parts. 

Mix.  Heat  the  cold  cream,  oil,  and  the  solution  of  soda  together,  stir- 
ring until  an  emulsion  is  formed.  Warm  together  the  glycerine,  acid,  mucilage, 
and  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  parts  of  the  water,  and  mix  with  the  emulsion. 
Stir  until  eold,  and  make  up  to  the  two  hundred  parts  by  adding  the  rest  of 
the  water.  Add  the  perfume.  To  make  the  skin  soft  and  elastic. 

CREAM   (RECAMIER). 

Oxide  of  zinc   4  ounces. 

Glycerine     13  drachms. 

Spirits  of  rose   (four  drachms  to  a  pint) 1  drachm. 

Water    5  drachms. 

Mix.    A  valuable  face  cream. 

CREAM   (QUINCE-SEED). 

Quince-seed   3  drachms. 

Boric  acid  8  grains. 

Glycerine     4  ounces. 

Alcohol    6  ounces. 

Carbolic  acid    20  grains. 

Cologne    4  drachms. 

Oil  of  lavender   40  drops. 

Glycerine  of  starch  4  ounces. 

Water  enough  to  make   2  pints. 

Mix.  Dissolve  the  boric  acid  in  eight  ounces  of  water,  bruise  the  quince- 
seed,  and  macerate  in  the  solution  for  three  hours.  Press  through  a  straining 
cloth.  Add  the  glycerine,  carbolic  acid,  and  glycerine  of  starch,  and  mix  thor- 
oughly. Mix  the  cologne  and  the  oil  of  lavender  with  the  alcohol,  add  them 
to  the  mucilage  and  mix  again  thoroughly.  For  a  dry  and  irritable  skin. 


422  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

CREAM-BALM. 

White  wax    1  drachm. 

Paraffine    %  drachm. 

Oil  of  sweet  almonds   2  drachms. 

Mix.  Stir  well  until  cold.  Having  dissolved  in  a  mortar  a  half  drachm 
of  the  nitrate  of  soda  in  half  a  drachm  of  water,  mix  thoroughly  the  above 
ingredients  of  salve  with  this  solution  and  finally  add — 

Oil  of  lemon  10  drops. 

Oil  of  orange   2  drops. 

COLD    CREAM     ( CUCUMBER). 

Oil  of  almonds    - 2  pints. 

Green   oil    2  ounces. 

Cucumber  juice    2  pints. 

White  wax   2  ounces. 

Spermaceti    • 2  ounces. 

Cucumber  essence   4  ounces. 

Mix.  The  cucumbers  are  squeezed,  the  juice  boiled  and  skimmed,  quickly 
cooled,  and  filtered  through  linen.  As,  however, .  the  aroma  of  the  cucumber 
is  destroyed  by  heat,  a  better  proceeding  is  to  slice  the  cucumbers  as  thin  as 
possible,  place  them  in  olive  oil,  and  allow  them  to  stand  immersed  for  twenty- 
four  hours.  The  oil  should  then  be  filtered  off  and  fresh  slices  of  cucumber  be 
placed  in  it.  After  they  have  stood  in  it,  the  oil  is  ready  to  be  incorporated 
with  cold  cream  prepared  in  the  manner  heretofore  described. 

Ointments  similar  to  cold  cream  are  prepared  in  like  man- 
ner. The  one  immediately  following  was  at  one  time  famous 
when  pomatum  was  largely  used  by  both  sexes  for  the  hair : — 

COLD    CREAM    (POMMADE-DIVINE) . 

Lard     1       pound. 

Spermaceti %  pound. 

Oil  of  almonds 1%  pounds. 

Benzoin   %  pound. 

Vanilla 3       ounces. 

Mix.  The  ingredients  are  heated  together  at  a  temperature  not  exceed- 
ing one  hundred  and  sixty-two  degrees  Fahrenheit.  After  five  or  six  hours  they 
are  strained  and  put  into  pots. 

CAMPHOR-PASTE. 

Purified  lard    %  pound. 

Wax     2  ounces. 

Spermaceti    • 2  ounces. 

Camphor    - 2  ounces. 

Oil  of  almonds    • 1  pint. 

Mix.    The  ingredients  to  be  melted  and  then  beaten  up  together  until   cold. 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS.  423 

CREAM   OR   MARROW    POMADE. 

Lard    8  pounds. 

Ox-marrow    4  pounds. 

Oil  of  lemon   2  ounces. 

Oil  of  bergamot 1  ounce. 

Oil  of  cloves 5  drachms. 

Mix.     The  fats  are  melted  and  beaten  up  for  half  an  hour,  or  longer, 
until  they  have  become  cold.    Use  for  the  hair  as  a  pomade. 

Perfumes,  Soaps,   Colognes,  Etc. 

COMPOUND  ESSENCE  OF  ORRIS-ROOT. 

Vanilla-bean  cut  fine 2  drachms. 

Bruised  orris-root 6  drachms. 

Essence  of  Peruvian  balsam 1  ounce. 

Alcohol 16  ounces. 

Mix.    Macerate  for  fourteen  days  and  then  filter. 

WHITE-LILAC    EXTRACT. 

Extract  of  tuberose    1  pint. 

Extract  of  orange-flowers   4  ounces. 

Oil  of  bitter  almonds 3  drops. 

Extract  of  civet    %  ounce. 

Mix.     The  extract  of  civet  is  added  only  for  the  purpose  of  rendering  the 
mixture  more  stable. 

JONQUILLE-EXTRACT. 

Extract  of  jasmine  14  ounces. 

Extract  of  tuberose  14  ounces. 

Extract  of  orange-flowers   7  ounces. 

Extract  of  vanilla    %  ounce. 

Mix. 

VERBENA-EXTRACT. 

Rectified  alcohol    1       pint. 

Oil  of  verbena   2%  drachms. 

Oil  of  lemon-peel  2      ounces. 

Oil  of  orange-peel   %  ounce. 

Mix. 

VERBENA-EXTRACT. 

Rectified  alcohol 1       pint. 

Oil  of  lemon-peel  2       ounces. 

Oil  of  orange-peel  1       ounce. 

Oil  of  verbena   2%  drachms. 

Extract  of  orange-flowers   6*4  ounces. 

Spirit  of  rose  Vz  pint. 

Mix. 


424  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

VVINTERGREEN-EXTRACT. 

Spirit  of  rose 1  pint. 

Essence  of  lavender   4  ounces. 

Extract  of  neroli %  pint. 

Extract  of  vanilla   4  ounces. 

Extract  of  vilivert   4  ounces. 

Mix. 

LILY-OF-THE-V ALLEY   EXTRACT. 

Essence  of  tuberose    8  ounces. 

Jasmine  essence    1  ounce. 

Orange-flower  essence 1  ounce. 

Rose-spirit    1  ounce. 

Tincture  of  vanilla  1  ounce. 

Rose-essence   1  ounce. 

Bitter  almond-oil    5  drops. 

Mix. 

MIGNONETTE-EXTRACT. 

Rose-extract  4      ounces. 

Cassia    4       ounces. 

Tincture  of  myrrh  4      ounces. 

Violet-extract 1  %  ounces. 

Jasmine-extract  1  %  ounces. 

Mix. 

NEW-MOWN-HAY  EXTRACT. 

Extract  of  Tonka-bean 4  ounces. 

Alcohol    4  ounces. 

Rose-spirit    2  ounces. 

Rose-extract  2  ounces. 

Jasmine 2  ounces. 

Oil  of  neroli  10  drops. 

Oil  of  rose-geranium    60  drops. 

Mix. 

STEPHANOTIS-EXTRACT. 

Cassia  extract   1  %  ounces. 

Tuberose   1  %  ounces. 

Jasmine 14       ounces. 

Musk    14       ounces. 

Extract  of  orris-root  4      ounces. 

Extract  of  Tonka-bean  1%  ounces. 

Tincture  of  benzoin    2      ounces. 

Tincture  of  storax   2      ounces. 

Oil  of  bergamot %  ounce. 

Oil  of  rose   15       minims. 

Oil  of  neroli  15       minims. 

Alcohol    9       ounces. 

Mix. 


COSMETIC   PREPARATIONS.  425 

ORANGE-FLOWER  EXTRACT. 

Orange-flower  essence    11      ounces. 

Tincture  of  musk   1%  ounces. 

Cassia  extract   1%  ounces. 

Mix. 

MUSK    EXTRACT. 

Tincture  of  musk  11  ounces. 

Rose-spirit    4  ounces. 

Tincture  of  civet 6  drachms. 

Mix. 

i 

MARIE  STUART  EXTRACT. 

Rose-extract  8      ounces. 

Jasmine 8       ounces. 

Violet    8      ounces. 

Cassia    8      ounces. 

Tincture  of  musk   8       drachms. 

Tincture  of  ambra   1%  ounces. 

Tincture  of  orris-root 4       ounces. 

Tincture  of  Tonka-bean   4       ounces. 

Tincture  of  civet 4       ounces. 

Tincture  of  benzoin    4       ounces. 

Tincture  of  rose-oil  ]/£  drachm. 

Tincture  of  sandalwood %  drachm. 

Tincture  of  oil  of  neroli 1  %  drachms. 

Tincture  of  oil  of  bergamot 1       ounce. 

Rose-spirit 8       ounces. 

Mix. 

VIOLET-EXTRACT. 

Violet-essence     14  ounces. 

Rose-extract   4  ounces. 

Cinnamon-extract    4  ounces. 

Jasmine-essence   2  ounces. 

Tincture  of  musk   2  ounces. 

Tincture  of  orris-root  1  ounce. 

Tincture  of  benzoin   1  ounce. 

Mix. 

WOOD-VIOLET  EXTRACT. 

Violet-extract 8      ounces. 

Tincture  of  cassia  1  Vj  ounces. 

Tincture  of  orris-root 1  %  ounces. 

Tincture  of  musk  1  %  ounces. 

Mix. 


426  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

The  three  following  recipes  are  for  inexpensive  perfumes : — 

Alcohol    1  pint. 

Oil  of  bergamot 1  ounce. 

Mix. 

Alcohol    1  pint. 

Oil  of  French  lavender    %  ounce. 

Oil  of  bergamot %  ounce. 

Oil  of  cloves  %  drachm. 

Mix. 

Alcohol    1  pint. 

Oil  of  verbena   Vz  ounce. 

Oil  of  lemon  : 1  ounce. 

Mix. 

SICILIAN   ESSENCE. 

Matured  oil  of  English  lavender 3  drachms. 

Oil  of  English  cloves %  drachm. 

Essence  of  musk   12  drachms. 

Oil  of  bergamot 4  drachms. 

Oil  of  yellow  sandahvood    40  drops. 

Essence  of  ambergris   4  drachms. 

Oil  of  rose    1  drachm. 

Heliotrope  bouquet   (given  above) 4  drachms. 

Extrait  Marechal      1  ounce. 

Alcohol    7  ounces. 

Mix. 

HANDKERCHIEF    PERFUME. 

Essence  of  musk   4       ounces. 

Oil  of  bergamot 1  ^  drachms. 

Extract  of  jasmine 2       ounces. 

Oil  of  English  lavender   %  drachm. 

Oil  of  neroli %  drachm. 

Oil  of  patchouli 10       drops. 

Oil  of  cloves   10       drops. 

Oil  of  rose   1%  drachms. 

Oil  of  .verbena   16       drops. 

Oil  of  cassia   10       drops. 

Alcohol  enough  to  make,  all  told 80       ounces. 

Mix.    Macerate  for  one  month,  then  filter  three  times. 

ESSENCE  OF  PERUVIAN  BALSAM. 

Peruvian  balsam   1  ounce. 

Alcohol    9  ounces. 

Mix.     Macerate  for  two  days  and  then  filter. 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS.  427 

HELIOTROPE-BOUQUET. 

Heliotropin     4  drachms. 

Compound  essence  of  orris-root 30  ounces. 

Extract  of  rose   g  ounces. 

Extract  of  jasmine   g  ounces. 

Oil  of  neroli  100  drops. 

Oil  of  bergamot 2  drachms. 

Essence  of  musk   4  ounces. 

Otto  of  rose   2  drachms. 

Compound  essence  of  Tonquin  bean 8  ounces. 

Alcohol    gO  ounces. 

Mix.     Allow  mixture  to  stand  for  fourteen  days,  then  strain  three  times 
through  English  gray  filtering-paper. 


MIXED  SCENT. 

Oil  of  lemon    2  drachms. 

Oil  of  bergamot 2  drachms. 

Essence  of  musk   2  drachms. 

English  oil  of  lavender   20  minims. 

Oil  of  pimento  20  minims. 

Mix. 

COMPOUND  ESSENCE  OF  TONQUIN-BEAN. 

Bruised  orris-root   2       drachms. 

Tonquin-bean  cut  fine   6       drachms. 

Essence  of  ambergris   30       drops. 

Oil  of  Ylang-ylang   60       drops. 

Compound  essence  of  orris-root : 4       ounces. 

Oil  of  lemon %  drachm. 

Otto  of  rose   %  drachm. 

Oil  of  bergamot 160       drops. 

Alcohol    1       pint. 

Mix.     Macerate  for  fourteen  days  and  then  filter. 

HELIOTROPE-WATER. 

Oil  of  rhodium 1  drachm. 

Oil  of  rose    1  drachm. 

Oil  of  almonds  20  drops. 

Tincture  of  orris-root %  pint. 

Tincture  of  vanilla   %  pint. 

Tincture  of  musk   1  ounce. 

Alcohol   (ninety-five  degrees)    3  pints. 

Triple  rose-water    4  ounces. 

Mix. 


428  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

CHRISTIANAS    VOLATILE    ESSENCE. 

Oil  of  lavender %  ounce. 

Oil  of  bergamot    %  ounce. 

Oil  of  cloves    ^4  ounce. 

Oil  of  rhodium 1       drachm. 

Strong  aqua-ammonia    2%  ounces. 

Mix.  The  above  mixture  is  useful  as  a  perfumed  pungent  to  take  the 
place  of  ordinary  pungents,  or  smelling-salts. 

NEW-MOWN  HAY. 

Extract  of  Tonka-bean  2  pints. 

Extract  of  rose-geranium 1  pint. 

Extract  of  orange-flowers   1  pint. 

Extract    of    rose-leaves 1  pint. 

Triple  spirit-of-rose    1  pint. 

Extract  of  jasmine   1  pint. 

Mix. 

NEW  GARDEN  NOSEGAY. 

Extract  of  orange-petals   1       pint. 

Extract  of  cassia V.2  pint. 

Extract  of  tuberose    3/&  pint. 

Extract  of  jasmine   %  pint. 

Extract  of  rose-geranium %  pint. 

Essence   of   musk    1  %  ounces. 

Essence  of  ambergris 1  y2  ounces. 

Mix. 

Various  scented  preparations  are  made  for  filling  sachet- 
bags,  etc.  The  substances  used  for  the  purpose  are  such  as 
emit  a  perfume  at  ordinary  temperatures. 

POWDER  OF  A  THOUSAND  FLOWERS. 

Powdered  lavender-flowers    2%  pounds. 

Powdered  orris-root    2%  pounds. 

Powdered  rose-leaves    2%  pounds. 

Powdered  benzoin   21/£  pounds. 

Powdered  Tonka-bean 6      ounces. 

Powdered  vanilla    6      ounces. 

Powdered  sandalwood 6      ounces. 

Musk    y2  drachm. 

Civet    y2  drachm. 

Powdered  cloves 6       ounces. 

Powdered  cinnamon 3       ounces. 

Powdered  allspic 3       ounces. 

Mix. 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS.  429 

LAVENDER-POWDER. 

Powdered  lavender-flowers 2%  pounds. 

Powdered  benzoin   6       ounces. 

Oil  of  lavender y>  ounce. 

Mix. 

ROSE-POWDER. 

Rose-ieaves    2%  pounds. 

Powdered   sandalwood 1  y4  pounds. 

Oil  of  rose 1       ounce. 

Mix. 

VERBENA-POWDER. 

Dried  and  powdered  lemon-peel 2%  pounds. 

Thyme    6       ounces. 

Oil   of   verbena    2       drachms. 

Oil  of  lemon-peel   1       ounce. 

*          Oil  of  bergamot    2      ounces. 

Mix. 

VIOLET-POWDER. 

Black  currant-leaves 2%  pounds. 

Cassia    2%  pounds. 

Rose-leaves    2%  pounds. 

Powdered  orris-root    5       pounds. 

Oil  of  bitt«r  almonds   %  drachm. 

Granulated  musk    15       grains. 

Powdered  benzoin   *4  pound. 

Mix. 

Christian!  gives  the  formulae  for  various  sachet-powders 
from  which  the  following  selections  are  made : — 

HELIOTROPE-SACHET. 

Ground  rose-leaves    1%  pounds. 

Ground  orris-root    2       pounds. 

Ground  Tonquin-bean %  pound. 

Ground  vanilla    %  pound. 

Ground  gum-benzoin    %  pound. 

Ground  musk-pods    %  ounce. 

Oil  of  rose    %  drachm. 

Oil  of  almonds %  drachm. 

Mix. 

GERANIUM-SACHET. 

Ground  rose-geranium  leaves   1  pound. 

Ground  orris-root    '• 2  pounds. 

Ground  rhodium-wood   %  pound. 

•Ground  gum-benzoin %  pound. 

Oil  of  geranium  %  ounce. 

Mix. 


43O  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

A  class  of  perfumes  has  lately  been  devised  which  is  made 
by  perfuming  hard  paraffine.  The  paraffine  is  melted  and  per- 
fumed without  its  being  raised  to  a  very  high  temperature.  The 

lids  of  ordinary  two-drachm  tin  boxes  may  be  utilized  for 
moulds.  From  one  to  five  drops  of  the  liquid  perfume  are  added 
to  each  mould. 

The  following  formulae  are  taken  from  Zielig's,  for  Solid 

Perfumes,  as  given  in  "The  British  and  Colonial  Druggist" : — 

WHITE-ROSE  SOLID  PERFUME. 

Oil  of  geranium   Vs  drachm. 

Oil  of  bergamot    %  drachm. 

Oil  of  patchouli   5  minims. 

Mix. 

LAVENDER    SOLID    PERFUME. 

Oil  of  lavender 2  ounces. 

Essence  of  bergamot 1  ounce. 

Oil  of  cassia   5  minims. 

Oil  of  geranium   40  minims. 

Oil  of  orange    5  minims. 

Mix. 

BOUQUET    SOLID    PERFUME. 

Oil  of  coriander  18  minims. 

Oil  of  cloves   2  drachms. 

Oil  of  nutmeg    1  drachm. 

Oil  of  lavender 3  drachms. 

Oil  of   sandalwood    1  drachm. 

Oil  of  bergamot    1  ounce. 

Otto  of  rose    i/>  drachm. 

Oil  of  geranium   y2  drachm. 

Oil  of  orange   10  minims. 

Mix. 

COLOGNE  SOLID   PERFUME. 

Essence  of  bergamot    1  ounce. 

Essence  of  lemon 1  ounce. 

Oil  of  citronella %  ounce. 

Oil  of  neroli y2  ounce. 

Oil  of  rosemary   80  minims. 

Oil  of  geranium  10  minims. 

Mix. 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS. 


43! 


From  the  same  source  as  that  mentioned  above  the  following 
formulae  for  scented  soaps  are  taken:  — 


ROSE-SOAP. 

Curd-soap    ...................................  ISTVa  pounds. 

White  oil  soap   ...............................  63       pounds. 

Oil  of  rose-geranium    .........................  1       pint. 

Oil  of  palm-rose   .............................  13      ounces. 

Oil  of  patchouli  ..............................  2       drachms. 

Oil  of  cloves   .................................  9       ounce? 

Mix. 

VANILLA-SOAP. 

Curd-soap    ...................................  125       pounds. 

Yellow  soap    ...................  '.  .............  125       pounds. 

Tincture  of  benzoin  ...........................  4%  pints. 

Extract  of  cumarin    .......  ...................  1%  pints. 

Peruvian  balsam    .............................  8       ounces. 

Oil  of  lavender  ...............................  1       pint. 

Oil  of  rose-geranium    .........................  8       ounces. 

Mix. 

FRANGIPANI-SOAP. 

Curd-soap    ...................................  125  pounds. 

Civet  (rubbed  up  with  sugar)  ..................  3  ounces. 

Oil  of  neroli  .................................  6  ounces. 

Oil  of  sandalwood  ............................  15  ounces. 

Oil  of  rose   ..................................  3  ounces. 

Oil  of  vitivert    ...............................  3  ounces. 

Mix. 

LAVENDER-SOAP. 

Curd-soap    ...................................  100      pounds. 

Palm-soap   .....................  ..............  25       pounds. 

Oil  of  lavender  ...............................  *>       ounces. 

Oil  of  rose   ..................................  1       ounce. 

Oil  of  rose-geranium  .........................  1%  ounces. 

Civet  (rubbed  up  with  sugar)    ...............  %  drachm. 

Mix. 

ORANGE-FLOWER   SOAP. 

Curd-soap    ...................................  100      pounds. 

Palm-soap  ...................................  25       pounds. 

Oil  of  orange-peel   ..........................  8      ounces. 

Oil  of  neroli  ..................................      6%  ounces. 

Oil  of  rose    ..............................  5      drachms. 

Musk  (  rubbed  with  sugar)    ...........  15       grains. 

Mix. 


432  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

CEDAR-SOAP. 

Curd-soap    125       pounds. 

Oil   of  cedarwood    17       ounces. 

Oil  of  rose    1%  ounces. 

Mix. 

SHAVING   SOAP. 
(Pharmaceutical  Era,.) 

Best  soft  soap 2  ounces. 

Cold   cream    1  ounce. 

Good  white  soap   8  ounces. 

Oil  of  citronella 20  drops. 

Essence  of  lemon  20  drops. 

Mix. 

PERSIAN-BOUQUET. 

Oil  of  rhodium    1  drachm. 

Oil  of  rose   1  drachm. 

Oil  of  bitter-almonds   20  drops. 

Oil  of  cloves    10  drops. 

Oil  little  grain    1  drachm. 

Tincture  of  orris-root 8  ounces. 

Tincture  of  vanilla 4  ounces. 

Tincture  of  musk   1  ounce. 

Rose-water    4  ounces. 

Cologne  enough  to  make,  all  told 4  pints. 

Mix  the  oils  and  the  tinctures  with  the  cologne,  and  then  add  the  rose- 
water.     Shake  well,  allow  to  stand  for  three  days,  then  filter. 

FLORIDA-WATER. 

Oil  of  lemon  6  ounces. 

Oil  of  lavender    8  ounces. 

Oil  of  lemon-grass    2  ounces. 

Oil  of  cloves    4  ounces. 

Alcohol    5  gallons. 

Distilled  water 10  pints. 

Mix. 

FLORIDA-WATER. 

Oil  of  lavender   2  drachms. 

Oil  of  bergamot 2  drachma. 

Oil  of  lemon .' 2  drachms. 

Oil  of  neroli  1  drachm. 

Oil  of  melissa    30  minims. 

Otto  of  rose  10  minims. 

Tincture  of  turmeric   1  drachm. 

Spirituous   menstruum    32  ounces. 

Mix.    "Spirituous  menstrum"  means  alcoholic  liquid. 


COSMETIC   PREPARATIONS.  433 

FLORIDA- WATER. 

Oil  of  lavender   1  ounce. 

Oil  of  bergamot 1  ounce. 

Oil  of  lemon 1  ounce. 

Oil  of  cloves    1  drachm. 

Oil  of  cinnamon 1  drachm. 

Alcohol    14  scruple. 

Mix,  add  a  gallon  of  water,  and  filter. 

EAU-DU-PORTUGAL. 

Oil  of  bergamot 1       ounce. 

Oil  of  lemon 2*4  ounces. 

Oil  of  orange-peel  y2  pound. 

Oil  of  rose   14  ounce. 

Alcohol    10      pints. 

Mix. 

EAU-DU-BOTOT. 

Oil  of  peppermint  60  drops. 

Oil  of  spearmint   30  drops. 

Oil  of  cloves  10  drops. 

Oil  of  red-cedar  wood 1  drachm. 

Tincture  of  myrrh   1  ounce. 

Alcohol    1  pint. 

Mix.  Color  with  cochineal.  The  oil  of  cedar  tops  will  not  do  instead 
of  the  oil  of  the  wood.  The  oil  of  cedar  tops  smells  like  turpentine,  whereas 
that  of  the  wood  is  fragrant. 

ORANGE-FLOWER   WATER. 

Take  three  or  four  drops  of  a  fine  quality  of  oil  of  neroli- 
petals  and  drop  them  on  a  piece  of  filter-paper  three  inches 
square.  Put  the  paper  in  a  quart  bottle,  pour  into  it  four  fluid- 
ounces  of  warm,  distilled  water,  at  a  temperature  of  about  one 
hundred  degrees  Fahrenheit,  and  shake  it  well  for  a  couple  of 
minutes.  Then  add  warm,  distilled  water,  to  the  amount  of  a 
pint,  and  shake  the  bottle  again  until  its  contents  become  cold. 
Lastly,  filter.  For  perfumery,  add  two  drachms  of  rose-water 
to  the  pint  of  the  mixture. 

VIOLET-WATER. 

Essence  of  violet 4  ounces. 

Essence  of  cassia   1%  ounces. 

Essence  of  rose   1%  ounces. 

Deodorized  alcohol   2  pints. 

Mix. 


434  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

LAVENDER-WATER. 

English  oil  of  lavender   4       ounces. 

Oil  of  bergamot    2%  ounces. 

Otto  of  rose   1  %  drachms. 

Oil  of  neroli   %  drachm. 

Spirit  of  nitrous  ether    2V£  ounces. 

Grain-musk     15       grains. 

Triple   rose-water    12       ounces. 

Rectified   spirit    100       ounces. 

Mix  and  keep  for  six  weeks. 

LAVENDER-WATER. 

English  oil  of  lavender .' 4  drachms. 

Oil  of  bergamot   45  minims. 

Essence  of  musk   ( four  grains  to  an  ounce ) 2  drachms. 

Essence  of  ambergris  (eight  grains  to  an  ounce)  .  .  1  drachm. 

Alcohol    19  ounces. 

Mix.    Set  aside  for  a  few  weeks  to  clear. 

GERANIUM- WATER. 

French  oil  of  rose-geranium 2  ounces. 

Tincture  of  orris-root    4  ounces. 

Tincture  of  ambrette   4  ounces. 

Alcohol   (ninety-five  degrees)    3  pints. 

Rose-water    %  pint. 

Mix. 

HUNGARY-V/ATER. 

Spirit  of  lavender   1  part. 

Spirit  of  sage 1  part. 

Spirit  of  rosemary   3  parts. 

Mix. 

HUNGARY-WATER. 

Grape  spirit   1  gallon. 

Otto  of  Hungarian  rosemary   2  ounces. 

Otto  of  lemon-peel    1  ounce. 

Otto  of  melissa  balm   1  ounce. 

Otto  of  spearmint %  drachm. 

Triple  esprit -de-rose  1  pint. 

Extract  of  orange-flowers 1  pint. 

Mix. 

TRIPLE    ESPRIT-DE-ROSE. 

t 

Rectified  alcohol    1  gallon. 

Otto  of  rose   .                                                               .  3  ounces. 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS.  435 

EUCALYPTUS-WATER. 

Balsam  of  Peru 20  minims. 

Tincture  of  tolu   80  minims. 

Tincture  of  benzoin    80  minims. 

Tincture  of  Tonka  bean 120  minims. 

Tincture  of  vanilla  160  minims. 

Tincture  of  musk    100  minims. 

Oil  of  eucalyptus    30  minims. 

Oil  of  neroli   4  minims. 

Rose-water    6  ounces. 

Orange-flower  water   6  ounces. 

Alcohol    20  ounces. 

Mix. 

MAGNOLIA-SACHET. 

Ground  rose-leaves    1  pound. 

Ground  orange-flowers   %  pound. 

Ground  orris-root    2  pounds. 

Ground  benzoin   Vt  pound. 

Ground  orange-peel yt  pound. 

Oil  of  almonds   1  drachm. 

Oil  of  cedrat 2  drachms. 

Mix. 

ROSE-SACHET. 

Ground  rose-leaves    1  */*>  pounds. 

Ground  orris-root    1       pound. 

Ground  rhodium-wood    1       pound. 

Ground  santal   %  pound. 

Ground  benzoin   %  pound. 

Otto-of-rose    2       drachms. 

Brazil-wood 1       ounce. 

Mix. 

VERBENA-SACHET. 

Ground   lemon-thyme    1   pound. 

Ground  lemon-peel    2  pounds. 

Ground  orris-root    1  pound. 

Oil  of  lemon-grass    %  ounce. 

Oil  of  bergamot    1 , ounce. 

Mix. 

VIOLET-SACHET. 

Ground  orris-root   2  pounds. 

Ground  rhodium-wood   » •  •  %  pound. 

Ground  rose-leaves   •  •   %  pound. 

Mix. 


436  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

The  two  following  are  taken  from  Sniveley's  "Manufacture 
of  Perfumes": — 

VIOLET-SACHET. 

Powdered  orris-root   0  ounces. 

Ground  red-rose  petals 2  ounces. 

•Powdered  benzoin   2  ounces. 

Tonquin  musk    8  grains. 

Oil  of  bitter  almonds 2  minims. 

Mix.     A  little  violet  essence  is  a  desirable  addition. 

ROSE-SACHET. 

Ground  red-rose  petals 6      ounces. 

Ground  sandalwood 1  %  ounces. 

Oil  of  rose    %  drachm. 

Oil  of  rose-geranium %  drachm. 

Mix.    The  above  may  be  converted  into  white-rose  sachet  by  the  addition 
of  a  small  amount  of  the  extract  of  patchouli. 

SACHET-POWDER. 
(Pharmaceutical  Era.\ 

Powdered  coriander-seeds    1  ounce. 

Powdered  orris-root    1  ounce. 

Dried  rose-leaves  ( crushed )    1  ounce. 

Powdered  aromatic  flag- root 1  %  ounces. 

Dried  lavender  flowers 2  ounces. 

Oil  of  rhodium    , ,  .  20  drops. 

Oil  of  bergamot    30  drops. 

Musk    ( in  grain )    5  grains. 

Mix. 

A    number   of   elegant    preparations    for    the    making   of 
cologne  are  known. 

FIRST-QUALITY   COLOGNE. 

Alcohol   (eighty-five  degrees)    56  pints. 

Oil  of  neroli-petals  3  ounces. 

Oil  of  neroli  bigarade   1  ounce. 

Oil  of  rosemary 1  ounce. 

Expressed  oil  of  orange-peel   5  ounces. 

Expressed  oil  of  lemon   5  ounces. 

Oil  of  bergamot    2  ounces. 

Mix.     The  mixture  should  be  allowed  to  stand  for  several  days  before 
being  bottled. 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS.  437 

FIRST-QUALITY  COLOGNE. 

Best  alcohol   (ninety  degrees)    '.  50      pints. 

Oil  of  orange    1       ounce. 

Oil  of  little  grain 1       ounce. 

Oil  of  orange-peel  2%  ounces. 

Oil   of  lemon 6       ounces. 

Oil  of  bergamot    6       ounces. 

Oil   of   rosemary %  ounce. 

Oil  of  English  lavender %  ounce. 

Mix. 

SECOND-QUALITY    COLOGNE. 

Purified  corn-spirit  56  pints. 

Oil  of  little  grain 3  ounces. 

Oil  of  neroli-petals   5  drachms. 

Oil   of   rosemary 5  drachms. 

Oil  of  orange-peel 4  ounces. 

Oil   of   lemon 4  ounces. 

Oil  of  bergamot    4  ounces. 

Mix. 

SECOND-QUALITY    COLOGNE. 

Finest  alcohol   ( eighty- five  degrees )    80      pints. 

Oil   of   neroli 5       drachms. 

Oil  of  little  grain 5       drachms. 

Oil  of  orange-peel   1%  ounces. 

Oil   of   lemon 4       ounces. 

Oil  of  bergamot    20       ounces. 

Oil  of  lavender    5       drachms. 

Oil  of  thyme    21/*.  drachms. 

Oil   of  rosemary 2%  drachms. 

Mix. 

THUM'S  COLOGNE. 

(Pharmaceutical  Era.) 

Oil  of  lavender    1  drachm. 

Oil  of  bergamot   2  drachms. 

Oil  of  lemon  2  drachms. 

Alcohol     4  pints. 

Distilled   water    4  ounces. 

Orris-root    1  ounce. 

Tincture  of  benzoin %  ounce. 

Tobac-vanilla    10  grains. 

Musk    1  grain. 

Jasmine  %  ounce. 

Mix.    Let  stand  for  some  time,  then  filter. 


HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

FARINA-COLOGNE. 

Oil  of  bergamot    4      ounces. 

Oil   of   lemon 1  %  ounces. 

Oil  of  neroli  bigarade  3       ounces. 

Oil  of  rosemary    3       ounces. 

Oil  of  cloves    %  ounce. 

Oil  of  lavender    %  ounce. 

Deodorized  alcohol    2%  gallons. 

Rectified  spirits  1  %  gallons. 

Mix. 

COLOGNE. 
(Pharmaceutical  Era.) 

Cologne   spirits    3       pints. 

Triple  extract  of  rose 1       pint. 

Extract  of  musk   3%  ounces. 

Tincture  of  ambergris 4       ounces. 

Tincture  of  vanilla   2       ounces. 

Tincture  of  orris-root  8%  ounces. 

Tincture  of  Tonka-bean  4      ounces. 

Mix. 

COLOGNE. 
(Pharmaceutical  Era.) 

Oil   of   neroli 1  part. 

Oil  of  patcnouli  2  parts. 

Oil  of  sandalwood   2  parts. 

Oil  of  lavender    3  parts. 

Oil  of  rose-geranium 3  parts. 

Oil  of  Canada  snake-root 9  parts. 

.       Tincture  of  musk 40  parts. 

Water    140  parts. 

Deodorized  alcohol    800  parts. 

Mix. 

GRAVES'S   WHITE-ROSE   COLOGNE. 

Oil  of  rose   1       drachm. 

Oil  of  bergamot    1  %  drachms. 

Oil  of  patchouli  10      drops. 

Oil  of  sweet  oranges 1       drachm. 

Tincture  of  orris-root   8       ounces. 

Tincture  of  musk    2      ounces. 

Tincture  of  civet  2      ounces. 

Extract  jasmine  ( from  pomade )    4       ounces. 

Cologne  spirit   (deodorized  alcohol) 41/;  pints. 

Rose-water    8       ounces. 

Mix.     Dissolve  the  oils  in  the  spirit,  add  the  tinctures,  and  lastly,  add 

the  rose-water.  Let  stand  three  days,  and  filter  with  a  half-ounce  of  mag- 
nesia. Color  green,  if  desired,  with  tincture  of  ambergris,  a  few  grains  of 
green  aniline  dissolved  in  alcohol,  or  with  tincture  of  chlorophyl. 


JCOSMETIC    PREPARATIONS.  439 

ANTISEPTIC    COLOGNE. 
(Pharmaceutical  Era.) 

Cologne  water   8  ounces. 

Chloral  hydrate   2  drachms. 

Quinine    (alkaloid)    10  grains. 

Carbolic  acid   30  grains. 

Oil  of  lavender 20  drops. 

Mix. 

WHITE-ROSE   COLOGNE. 
(Pharmaceutical  Era.) 

Triple  extract  of  white  rose 1  ounce. 

Oil  of  rose    3  drops. 

Oil  of  geranium    3  drops. 

Cologne   spirit    26  ounces. 

Hot  water    6  ounces. 

Mix.     Coloring  (a  sufficient  quantity). 

CHRISTIANAS    AMMONIATED    COLOGNE. 

Cologne    essence 1  ounce. 

Alcohol     2  pints. 

Ammonia-water  F.  F.  F 2  ounces. 

Mix. 

MYRTLE-COLOGNE. 

Extract  of  jasmine  %  pint. 

Extract  of  orange-flowers   2  pints. 

Extract  of  rose   4  pints. 

Extract  of  tuberose   2  pints. 

Tincture  of  vanilla  2  pints. 

Mix. 

NARCISSUS-COLOGNE. 

Extract  of  jonquille  1  pint. 

Extract  of  tuberose    3  pints. 

Tincture  of  storax 4  ounces. 

Tincture  of  tolu   4  ounces. 

Mix. 

PINK-COLOGNE. 

Extract  of  cassia   2%  pints. 

Extract  of  orange-flowers   ^ 2%  pints. 

Extract  of  rose  •*»       pints. 

Tincture  of  vanilla 20       ounces. 

Oil  of  cloves 75      grains. 

Mix. 


44O  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

SWEET-PEA    COLOGNE. 

Extract  of  tuberose   2      pints. 

Extract  of  orange-flowers   2      pints. 

Extract  of  rose   2      pints. 

Tincture  of  vanilla    5%  ounces. 

Mix. 

POLYANTHUS-COLOGNE. 

Extract  of  rose   2       pints. 

Extract  of  jasmine   1       pint. 

Extract  of  violet  %  pint. 

Tincture  of  musk   2%  drachms. 

Oil  of  neroli    %  ounce. 

Oil  of  lemon %  ounce. 

Deodorized  alcohol    4  .     pints. 

Mix. 

Toilet  Preparations. 

The  following  toilet  requisites  are  of  practical  advantage. 

ANTISEPTIC  SOLUTION. 

Benzoic  acid  2       drachms. 

Borax 2       drachms. 

Boric  acid   4       drachms. 

Thymol    %  drachm. 

Eucalyptol    10       drops. 

Oil  of  wintergreen  10       drops. 

Oil  of  peppermint 6       drops. 

Oil  of  thyme 2       drops. 

Rectified  spirits  5%  ounces. 

Water,  enough  to  make,  all  told 31       ounces. 

Mix.     This  is   a  pleasant  antiseptic   fluid   for  cleansing  the  skin  and 
relieving  any  irritation  and  inflammation. 

BAY  RUM. 

Oil  of  bay-leaves  2  drachms. 

Proof  Jamaica  rum 10  ounces. 

Alcohol    20  ounces. 

Distilled  water    10  ounces. 

Mix  and  let  stand  for  a  week,  and  then  filter. 

BLEACH   (MADAME  RUPERT'S  FACE-BLEACH). 

( Christiani. ) 

Corrosive  sublimate    7%  grains. 

Tincture  of  benzoin    1       drachm. 

Water    %  pint. 

Mix, 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS.  44! 

BLONDE  POWDER. 
(Christiani.) 

Levigated  talc   1  pound. 

Yellow-lake,  a  sufficient  quantity. 
Mix. 

BLONDE    POM  MADE. 
(Christiani.) 

Soft  body 1  pound. 

Yellow-lake,  a  sufficient  quantity. 
Mix.     Perfume  as  desired. 

COMPLEXION- WASH    (LAIT-VIRGINAL). 

Tincture  of  benzoin %  ounce. 

Tincture  of  vanilla  2       drachms. 

Rose-water    1 1£,  pints. 

Mix.  Add  the  water  very  slowly  to  the  tincture,  in  order  to  ensure  a 
perfectly  milky  emulsion  which  will  not  precipitate. 

COMPLEXION-WASH 

Rose-water    4      ounces. 

Orange-flower  water   4       ounces. 

Borax     2%  drachms. 

Tincture  of  benzoin 1      ounce. 

This  is  a  serviceable  prescription,  especially  to  give  the  skin 
a  fresh  and  healthy  appearance  in  a  dry  or  oily  condition  of  the 
face  or  hands. 

DENTIFRICE. 

Heavy  carbonate  of  magnesia 7  ounces. 

Precipitated  chalk 24  ounces. 

Powdered  orris-root    4  ounces. 

Fresh  powdered  Castile-soap    4  ounces. 

Carmine 20  grains. 

Oil  of  clover 2  drachms. 

Oil  of  cinnamon 1  drachm. 

Oil  of  origanum 2  drops. 

Oil  of  geranium 1  drachm. 

Oil  of  rose 1  drachm. 

Essence  of  musk 1  drachm. 

Mix  well  and  pass  several  times  through  a  fine  drum  sieve. 

TOOTH-POWDER    (QUININE). 

Precipitated  chalk 2  pounds. 

Powdered  starch   1  pound. 

Powdered  orris-root    1  pound. 

Sulphate  of  quinine   2  drachms. 

Mix. 


442  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

DENTIFRICE    (ANTISEPTIC). 

Powdered  orris-root    3  drachms. 

Powdered  liquorice   2  drachms. 

Fresh  powdered  Castile-soap 5  drachms. 

Precipitated  chalk 1  ounce. 

Boric  acid   2  drachms. 

Benzoic  acid 20  grains. 

Oil  of  eucalyptus 40  drops. 

Oil  of  rose 10  drops. 

Oil  of  peppermint   10  drops. 

Oil  of  lemon   20  drops. 

Heavy  carbonate  of  iron  enough  to  make  altogether     4  ounces. 
Mix  the  ingredients  in  the  order  as  given  above,  and  pass  the  product 
through  a  fine  drum-sieve.     If  color  be  wished,  add  20  grains  of  carmine  for 
an  elegant  tint. 

DENTIFRICE    (FRENCH). 

Powdered  camphor   16       ouYices. 

Precipitated  chalk 5       pounds. 

Carmine     1  y»  drachms. 

Oil  of  rose 2       drachms. 

Mix.  After  being  thoroughly  mixed,  pass  through  a  fine  drum-sieve.  To 
bring  out  the  beautiful  color  of  the  dentifrice,  it  should  be  passed  through  the 
sieve  twenty  times. 

DENTIFRICE    ( CAMPHOR-CHALK). 

Precipitated  chalk 2  pounds. 

Powdered  orris-root    1  pound. 

Powdered  camphor   %  pound. 

Mix.  The  camphor  should  be  first  rubbed  up  in  a  mortar  with  a  little 
alcohol  before  being  mixed  with  the  other  ingredients.  On  account  of  the  vola- 
tility of  camphor,  the  powder  should  be  kept  in  a  tight  box. 

TOOTH-POWDER     ( SEPIA). 

Powdered  cuttle-fish  bone   1  pound. 

Precipitated  chalk 2  pounds. 

Powdered  orris-root    1  pound. 

Oil  of  lemon  2  ounces. 

Oil  of  neroli %  drachm. 

Mix. 

TOOTH-POWDER    (PERUVIAN    BARK). 

Finely  powdered  Peruvian  bark 9       ounces. 

Precipitated  chalk  18       ounces. 

Finely  powdered  oyster  shells 9       ounces. 

Powdered  myrrh    5%  ounces. 

Oil  of  peppermint .....,, 2%  drachms. 

Mix. 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS. 


443 


TOOTH-POWDER    (BORAX-AND-MYRRH). 

Precipitated  chalk  2  pounds. 

Powdered  borax 1  pound. 

Powdered  myrrh • %  pound. 

Powdered  orris-root    i/2  pound 

Mix. 

TOOTH-POWDER   (ROSE). 

Precipitated  chalk 2  pounds. 

Powdered  orris-root    1  pound. 

Carmine    y2  ounce. 

Oil  of  rose 2  drachms. 

Oil  of  sandal-wood   y,2  drachm. 

Mix. 

DENTIFRICE    (REH/S   ANTISEPTIC   LIQUID). 

Thymol    2      grains. 

Carbolic  acid    5       drops. 

Oil  of  sassafras   8       drops. 

Oil  of  wintergreen 8       drops. 

Oil  of  rose-geranium  8       drops. 

Oil  of  eucalyptus 3       drops. 

Oil  of  calamus  5       drops. 

Oil  of  pinus  pumilis  20       drops. 

Glycerine     2       ounces. 

Alcohol    41/2  ounces. 

White  Castile-soap   2       drachms. 

Distilled  water  enough  to  make 16       ounces. 

Phosphate  of  lime  enough. 

Caramel  and  tincture  of  cudbear enough. 

Mix.  Dissolve  the  soap  in  five  ounces  of  warm  water.  Dissolve  the  acids 
and  oils  in  the  alcohol,  and  add  them  to  the  soap  solution.  Filter  through 
paper  containing  a  small  quantity  of  phosphate  of  lime.  Add  glycerine. 

DENTIFRICE    (RUSH MERE    LIQUID). 

Ground  soap-bark   2      ounces. 

Glycerine 1  %  ounces. 

Salicylate  of  sodium 2       drachms. 

Oil  of  bergamot   i/2  drachm. 

Oil  of  wintergreen %  drachm. 

Oil  of  cloves  10      drops. 

Alcohol    1       ounce. 

Solution  of  carmine   enough. 

Dilute  alcohol,  enough  to  make,  all  told 16       ounces. 

Macerate  the  soap-bark  with  the  diluted  alcohol  and  glycerine,  then 
strain.  To  the  strained  liquids  add  the  oils  dissolved  in  alcohol.  To  this  add 
the  salicylate  of  sodium  and  a  sufficient  solution  of  carmine  to  color.  Shake 
thoroughly,  and  filter  through  wet  talc,  returning  the  first  portion  of  the 
filtered  liquids  while  it  runs  clear,  and  add  enough  dilute  alcohol  through  the 
filter  to  make* the  amount,  all-told,  one  pint. 


HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 


TOOTH-POWDER    (PERUVIAN    BARK). 

Finely  powdered  Peruvian  bark 1  pound. 

Carbonate  of  ammonia 2  pounds. 

Powdered  orris-root    2  pounds. 

Powdered  cinnamon   1  pound. 

Powdered  myrrh   1  pound. 

Precipitated  chalk 1  pound. 

Oil  of  cloves  %  ounce. 

Mix. 

DENTIFRICE    (EAST  INDIA   LIQUID). 

Shavings  of  white  Castile-soap 12       ounces. 

Carbonate  of  potash   2^  ounces. 

Powdered  rhatany 1       ounce. 

Glycerine 30       ounces. 

Sugar 30       ounces. 

Water    enough. 

Alcohol    1       gallon. 

Oil  of  true  cinnamon   %  ounce. 

Oil  of  gaultheria   6       drachms. 

Oil  of  aniseed 6       drachms. 

Oil  of  cloves  %  ounce. 

Oil  of  peppermint y2  ounce. 

Mix.  Put  the  soap  in  one  gallon  of  cold  water  and  add  the  carbonate 
of  potash.  Dissolve  the  oils  in  the  alcohol.  Add  the  sugar,  glycerine,  and 
rhatany  to  one  gallon  of  cold  water,  and  to  the  mixture  add  the  soap  solution 
and  the  oils'  solution.  Lastly,  add  cold  water  to  make  a  five-gallon  mixture  all- 
told.  Shake  daily  for  two  weeks,  then  leave  undisturbed  for  two  weeks.  Draw 
off  the  clear  part  of  the  solution  and  filter  the  rest. 

TOOTH-PASTE    (RUBY). 

Powdered  Castile-soap   2  ounces. 

Powdered  orris-root    6  ounces. 

Precipitated  chalk 6  ounces. 

Honey    6,  ounces. 

Powdered  cuttle-fish  bone   2  ounces. 

Powdered  pumice-stone    1  ounce. 

Powdered  catechu %  ounce. 

Powdered  cinchona   %  ounce. 

Oil  of  cloves   %  ounce. 

Oil  of  wintergreen    %  ounce. 

Oil  of  nutmeg   %  ounce. 

Glycerine  enough  to  make  paste. 
Solution  of  carmine  enough  to  color. 
Mix.    The  essential  oils  should  be  rubbed  up  with  the  dry  powder. 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS.  445 

DENTIFRICE    (TANNIN). 

Sugar  of  milk   32-      ounces. 

Carmine     150       grains. 

Pure  tannin   %  ounce. 

Oil  of  peppermint  20       drops. 

Oil  of  aniseed    20       drops. 

Oil  of  orange-flowers 10       drops. 

Mix.     Blend  the  carmine  with  the  tannin,  add  the  sugar  of  milk  gradu- 
ally, and  finally  the  oils. 

» 

TOOTH-PASTE    ( SOAP-BARK    AND   ARECA). 

Precipitated  chalk 8  ounces. 

Powdered  orris-root    8  ounces. 

Powdered  areca « 2  ounces. 

Powdered  cuttle-fish  bone 2  ounces. 

Powdered  quillaia   1  ounce. 

Powdered  borax 1  ounce. 

Oil  of  cloves   40  minims. 

Oil  of  nutmeg   40  minims. 

Oil  of  bitter  almonds 30  minims. 

Oil  of  rose   40  minims. 

Mix.    Add  enough  glycerine,  honey,  and  mucilage  to  make  a  paste.    Add 
the  oils  last,  and  color  with  a  solution  of  carmine. 

DENTIFRICE    (WILD   CHERRY). 

Precipitated  chalk 4  pounds. 

Powdered  orris-root    4  ounces. 

Powdered  soap  1  ounce. 

Fluid  extract  of  wild-cherry 8  ounces. 

Infusion  of  red-rose  leaves 12  ounces. 

Oil  of  wintergreen %  drachm. 

Essential  oil  of  almonds 8  drops. 

Glycerine,  (one  part  to  two  parts  of  water) 12  ounces. 

Mix. 

CREAM  (ANTISEPTIC  DENTAL). 

Precipitated  chalk 5  drachms. 

Powdered  white  Castile-soap    1  drachm. 

Salicylate  of  soda   30  grains. 

Oil  of  rose-geranium   4  drops. 

Oil  of  wintergreen   4  drops. 

Solution  of  carmine   2  drops. 

Glycerine 4  dr°P8- 

Mix.      For    this    recipe    was    awarded    prize    by    "The    Pharmaceutical 
Record." 


44^  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

As  the  following  recipes  are  for  emulsions  it  will  be  well, 
first  of  all,  to  explain  what  constitutes  an  emulsion.  It  is  an 
intimate  mixture  of  a  fatty  substance  with  water,  where  they 
are  prevented  by  some  viscid  substance  from  separating.  Cos- 
metically  it  protects  the  skin  and  renders  it  soft  and  smooth. 

EMULSION   (ROSE). 

Blanched  Valentia  almonds 8       ounces. 

Rose-water    1  %  pints. 

Alcohol   (ninety-five  degrees)    14       ounces. 

Oil  of  rose   1*4  drachms. 

Spermaceti    %  ounce. 

White  wax    y2  ounce. 

Castile  soap   - y2  ounce. 

Mix.  The  soap  is  pared  and  placed  in  a  kettle  which  can  be  heated  in 
a  water-bath.  From  two  to  three  ounces  of  rose-water  are  added  to  and 
heated  with  the  soap  until  it  is  completely  dissolved.  The  wax  and  the  sper- 
maceti are  then  added  while  the  mixture  is  gently  stirred.  Boiling  water 
having  been  poured  over  the  shelled  almonds,  and  then  made  into  a  paste  in  a 
clean  mortar,  they  are  rubbed  up  with  the  remainder  of  the  rose-water.  The 
almond  mixture  is  then,  without  pressure,  strained  through  wash-muslin.  The 
soap-solution  is  then  placed  in  the  mortar  and  the  almond  mixture  slowly 
added  and  carefully  mixed  with  it.  After  all  the  milk  of  almonds  has  been 
added,  the  alcohol  in  which  the  oil  of  rose  has  been  dissolved  is  emptied  into 
the  mortar.  The  alcohol  must  be  added  slowly,  or  else  it  will  cause  the  milk 
of  almonds  to  coagulate.  The  first  mixture  must  be  made  without  the  aid  of 
heat.  Finally,  it  is  strained  and  allowed  to  stand  for  twenty-four  hours. 

EMULSION    (ROSE). 

White  soap    Vs  ounce. 

Blanched  almonds  2  ounces. 

Liquid  carmine 10  drops. 

Rose-water    1  pint. 

Mix. 

EYEBROW-PENCIL. 

Suet   1  pound. 

Curd-soap %  pound. 

Ivory-black,  a  sufficient  quantity. 
Mix. 

EYE  WASH. 

Camphor  water   1  ounce. 

Infusion  of  sassafras-pith 2  ounces. 

Powdered   borax    3  grains. 

Cocaine  hydrochlorate   %  grain. 

Mix.  Directions:  Drop  in  the  eye  frequently  for  congestion  or  inflam- 
mation. 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS.  447 

EYE-LID   PASTE    (KOHL). 

(Christiani.) 

When  camphor  is  burned  and  the  smoke  condensed  and  col- 
lected, it  can  be  formed  into  a  paste  and  used  as  the  Eastern 
ladies  do,  by  applying  it  to  the  eyelids,  in  order  to  give  a  brilliant 
effect  to  the  eyes. 

GLYCERINE-BALSAM. 

White  wax   1  ounce. 

Spermaceti    1  ounce. 

Glycerine     1  ounce. 

Oil  of  almonds 8  ounces. 

Oil  of  rose    i/2  drachm. 

Mix. 

GLYCERINE  FRAGRANT  CREAM, 
i 

Flaxseed 2      ounces 

Salicylic  acid    X       grains. 

Glycerine     12%  ounces. 

Alcohol    2%  ounces. 

Carbolic  acid    1  drachm. 

Cologne    1  y2  drachms. 

Water 1  %  ounces. 

Mix.  This  recipe  is  valuable  for  rough  and  irritable  skin.  Make  a 
mucilage  by  steeping  the  flaxseed  in  the  water  for  three  days,  with  frequent 
shaking,  and  then  strain  through  muslin.  Dissolve  the  salicylic  acid  in  the 
alcohol,  and  to  the  product  add  the  glycerine  and  the  other  ingredients.  Shake 
well  and  let  the  whole  stand  for  twenty-four  hours.  Strain  through  muslin 
and  bottle.  Quince-seed  mucilage  may  be  substituted  to  advantage  for  that 
made  with  the  flaxseed  and  water. 

GLYCERINE-BALSAM. 

Glycerine     20  ounces. 

Alcohol    8  ounces. 

Otto  of  rose   • 16  drops. 

Distilled  water,  enough  to  make 80  ounces. 

Mix.  Add  solution  of  rosaniline  sufficient  to  give  a  faint  pink  tinge  to 
the  mixture.  Useful  for  pale  and  irritable  skin. 

GLYCERINE-LOTION. 

Glycerine 1  ounce. 

Tincture  of  arnica 1  ounce. 

Rose-water    1  ounce. 

Alcohol     1  ounce. 

Aromatic  spirits  of  ammonia   1  ounce. 

Mix.    Valuable  to  employ  in  foetid  odor  of  the  skin. 


448  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

GLYCERINE-CREAM. 

Glycerine     6  ounces. 

Powdered  tragaeanth    (or  enough  to  thicken  the 

mixture)    %  ounce. 

Extract  of  cassia   %  ounce. 

Powdered  borax  %  ounce. 

Powdered  Florentine  orris-root   1  ounce. 

Extract  of  jasmine  2  drachms. 

Mix.  This  is  a  good  preparation  for  healing  a  skin  roughened  by  sun 
and  wind.  Mix  the  extracts  with  the  powdered  orris-root.  Dissolve  the  borax 
in  the  glycerine,  and  mix  them  with  the  tragaeanth,  adding  the  extract  and 
orris-root  with  thorough  blending.  Put  the  mixture  in  collapsible  tubes  or  in 
wide-mouthed  vials. 

GLYCERINE   OR   BOROGLYCERIDE   CREAM. 

Boric  acid  1  part. 

Glycerine 24  parts. 

Anhydrous  lanolin    .*.».....     5  parts. 

Vaseline     70  parts. 

Mix.  Dissolve  the  boric  acid  in  the  glycerine  and  add  the  lanolin  and 
vaseline.  Perfume  and  tint  to  suit.  For  cracks  and  chaps  of  the  skin,  espe- 
cially in  irritable  lips. 

GLYCERINE- JELLY     (  PLAIN). 

Thin  French  gelatine %  ounce. 

Glycerine  of  borax • 10  ounces. 

Triple  rose-water    6  ounces. 

Water    • 5  ounces. 

Mix.  Soak  the  gelatine  in  the  water  all  night  in  a  gallipot,  and  next 
morning  place  the  pot  in  a  saucepan  with  water,  and  heat  until  the  gelatine 
is  dissolved.  Then  add  the  glycerine  and  the  rose-water.  The  preparation 
may  be  colored  with  a  little  cochineal  or  saffron.  Serviceable  in  greasy  and 
rough  skin. 

GLYCERINE- JELLY  (CARBOLATED) . 

Isinglass    1  ounce. 

Glycerine     16  ounces. 

Carbolic  acid   1  drachm. 

Water    • 3  ounces. 

Mix.  Prepare  in  the  same  manner  as  described  above.  To  be  tised  in 
similar  conditions  as  above  formula. 

GLYCERINE-JELLY    (  SOLID). 

French  gelatine   20      grains. 

Glycerine     1  %  ounces. 

Otto  of  roses   1       drop. 

Water    • %  ounce. 

Mix.  Make  up  as  before,  adding  the  otto  of  roses  when  the  jelly  is 
lukewarm,  and  pour  into  moulds. 


COSMETIC  PREPARATIONS.  449 

When  applied  undiluted  to  chapped  skin,  and  sometimes 
even  to  sound  skin,  glycerine  irritates  instead  of  benefitting  it. 
It  is  therefore  advisable  to  mix  the  glycerine  with  water  or  with 
some  fatty  substance. 

GLYCERINE-LOTION    (BORATED). 

Boric  acid  1  ounce. 

Glycerine     20  ounces. 

Orange-flower  water 16  ounces. 

Alcohol    12  ounces. 

Distilled  water,  enough  to  make 1  gallon. 

Mix.    Useful  in  dandruff  and  irritable  skin. 


,    GLYCERINE-CREAM. 

Powdered  tragacanth  1  ounce. 

Orange-flower  water   3  ounces. 

Glycerine     5  ounces. 

Tincture  of  benzoin    1  ounce. 

Boric  acid   %  ounce. 

Oil  of  roses 8  drops. 

Mix.     Make  into  a  paste.     It  may,  on  retiring,  be  rubbed  into  a  rough 
or  inflamed  skin,  and  washed  off  in  the  morning. 


GLYCERINE    COLD    CREAM. 

•    Arrow-root    1  ounce. 

Orange-flower  water   1  ounce. 

Glycerine     22  ounces. 

Oil  of  rose 15  drops. 

Oil  of  neroli 15  drops. 

Extract  of  jasmine  Vz  ounce. 

Mix. 


HAIR-LOTION     (QUININE-AND-GLYCERINE) . 

Cologne   2  ounces. 

Sulphate  of  quinine   15  grains. 

Tincture  of  cantharides  2  drachms. 

Borax 1  drachm. 

Ammonia-water   1  drachm. 

Glycerine 3  ounces. 

Tincture  of  sacchar   1  drachm  . 

Bay-rum  enough  to  make,  all  told 1  pint. 

Mix  and  filter. 

29 


45O  HEALTH  AND  BEAUTY. 

HAIR-OIL  (LEMON). 

Olive  oil    2       pints. 

Oil  of  bergamot 1  %  ounces. 

Oil  of  lemon 1       ounce. 

Oil  of  cloves  J/2  ounce. 

Oil  of  cinnamon *4  drachm. 

Oil  of  neroli 20       drops. 

Oil  of  rose    10       drops. 

Mix. 

HAIR-LOTION. 

Castor-oil    1       ounce. 

Oil  of  bergamot 40       drops. 

Glycerine 3%  ounces. 

Tincture  of  cantharides  4       drachms. 

Ammonia-water   4       drachms. 

Alcohol  enough  to  make,  all  told   1       pint. 

Mix.     Dissolve  the  oils  in  the  alcohol,  add  the  tincture,  and  gradually 
add  the  mixed  ammonia  and  glycerine. 

HAIR-LOTION. 

Sulphate  of  quinine   20  grains. 

Powdered  borax %  drachm. 

Ammonia-water  2  drachms. 

Compound  tincture  of  cinchona *A  ounce. 

Bay-rum  enough  to  make,  all  told 4  ounces. 

Mix.     To  one  ounce  of  the  bay-rum  add  the  quinine  and  the  borax,  and 

then  add  another  ounce  of  the  bay-rum;    gradually  add  the  ammonia,  and  then 
enough  bay  rum  to  make  the  four  ounces,  all  told,  of  liquid.     Finally,  filter. 

HAIR-LOTION. 

Powdered  borax 2  drachms. 

Tincture  of  cantharides  %  ounce. 

Aromatic  spirit  of  ammonia %  ounce. 

Glycerine     2  ounces. 

Extract  of  Japanese  lilac 1  drachm. 

Bay-rum    2  ounces. 

Sage-tea,  enough  to  make,  all  told 1  pint. 

Mix.    Take  one  ounce  of  sage  and  steep  it  in  a  pint  of  soft  water;    filter, 
and  dissolve  the  borax  in  the  tea,  then  add  all  the  other  ingredients. 

HAIR-LOTION     (QUININE). 

Sulphate  of  quinine   %  drachm. 

Alcohol    2  ounces. 

Tincture  of  cantharides 1  drachm. 

Tincture  of  capsicum %  drachm. 

Ammonia-water   4  drachms. 

Glycerine     1  ounce. 

Bay-rum  enough  to  make,  all  told 6  ounces. 

Mix. 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS.  451 

HAIR-LOTION    ( CROWN). 

Tincture  of  capsicum  3  drachms. 

Tincture  of  cantharides  3  drachms. 

Aromatic  spirits  of  ammonia 1  y2  ounces. 

Oil  of  lavender    1  drachm. 

Tincture  of  cinchona 2  ounces. 

Alcohol  enough  to  make,  all  told 16  ounces. 

Mix. 

HAIR-LOTION    (CjUINO-JABORANDl). 

Fluid  extract  of  jaborandi   1  ounce. 

Sulphate  of  quinine   20  grains. 

Glycerine     : 2  ounces. 

Cologne   4  ounces. 

Bay-rum    4  ounces. 

Rose-water    20  ounces. 

Mix. 

HAIR-CURLING  FLUID. 

Quince-seed  juice    3  ounces. 

Tragacanth 2  drachms. 

Boric  acid   2  drachms. 

Spirit  of  camphor %  ounce. 

Water 3  ounces. 

Mix.  Upon  retiring  for  the  night,  apply  to  the  hair  with  the  hand  or 
with  a  soft  sponge,  after  which  roll  the  hair  over  paper  with  hairpins. 

HAIR-LOTION. 

Tincture  of  Spanish-fly  1  ounce. 

Spirit  of  rosemary   1  ounce. 

Oil  of  sweet  almonds 4  ounces. 

Oil  of  lavender 20  drops. 

Oil  of  bergamot 40  drops. 

Oil  of  rose   8  drops. 

Mix.  To  be  applied  every  other  morning,  shaking  the  bottle  well  before 
using. 

LANOLIN-MILK. 

This  preparation  is  made  by  simply  rubbing  together  fifteen 
grains  of  borax  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  grains  of  lanolin, 
and  gradually  adding  twenty-five  drachms  of  orange-flower 
water. 

LANOLIN-CREAM. 

Anhydrous  lanolin    2%  drachms. 

Benzoated  lard    45      grains. 

Mix. 


45-  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

LANOLIN-CREAM. 

Anhydrous  lanolin    3  drachms. 

Yellow  vaseline    1  drachm. 

Oil  of  rose   5  drops. 

Tincture  of  vanilla   5  drops. 

Spirit  of  mignonette 10  drops. 

Mix. 

LANOLIN-CREAM. 

Oil  of  citron  1       drop. 

Oil  of  bergamot   3       drops. 

Spirit  of  mignonette  8       drops. 

Anhydrous  lanolin   2^4  drachms. 

Mix. 

LANOLIN-CREAM. 

Anhydrous  lanolin    2^  drachms. 

Oil  of  almonds  8  drops. 

Oil  of  cacao 8  drops. 

Benzoic  acid   1%  grains. 

Lanolin  creams  are  of  service  for  all  dry  and  irritable  con- 
ditions of  the  skin,  and  for  all  sores,  especially  bed-sores. 

MAY-DEW   MILK. 

Red-rose  leaves    2       ounces. 

Borax     %  ounce. 

Glycerine     1       ounce. 

Tincture  of  benzoin    1       ounce. 

Rose-water    1  %  pints. 

Mix. 

MILK  OF  ELDER-FLOWERS. 

,  Hulled  sweet  almonds  4  ounces. 

Elder-flower  water 14  ounces. 

Alcohol   ( ninety-five  degrees )    8  ounces. 

Oil  of  bitter  almonds %  drachm. 

Mix. 

MILK    OF    DANDELION. 

Hulled  sweet  almonds  4  ounces. 

Rose-water    14  ounces. 

Juice  of  dandelion  root 1  ounce. 

Extract  of  tuberose 8  ounces. 

Green  oil  %  ounce. 

Wax  %  ounce. 

Curd  soap  %  ounce. 

Mix.     The  dandelion  must  be  fresh. 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS.  453 

MILK  OF  BITTER  ALMONDS. 

Hulled  bitter  almonds  9  ounces. 

Distilled  water  or  rose-water 1%  pints. 

Alcohol   (ninety-five  degrees)    10%  ounces. 

Oil  of  bitter  almonds   i/,  drachm. 

Oil  of  bergamot 2  drachms. 

Wax  %  ounce. 

Spermaceti    %  ounce. 

Oil  of  almonds  %  ounce. 

Curd  soap y2  ounce. 

Mix. 

MILK  OF  BITTER  ALMONDS. 

Blanched  bitter  almonds  4  ounces. 

Orange-flower  water   12  ounces. 

Curd  soap  y2  ounce. 

Alcohol   (sixty-five  degrees)    4  drachms. 

Oil  of  almonds  20  drops. 

Oil  of  bergamot 1  drachm. 

Mix.  Dissolve  the  soap  in  a  water-bath  apparatus  with  the  orange- 
flower  water,  heat  the  almonds  in  a  clean  marble  mortar,  gradually  adding 
the  soap  and  water.  Strain  through  muslin,  and  return  the  product  to  the 
mortar,  and  while  gradually  stirring  it  add  the  alcohol  in  which  the  oils  have 
been  dissolved. 

MILK  OF  BITTER  ALMONDS. 

Blanched  sweet  almonds   5  ounces. 

White   Castile-soap    2  drachms. 

White  wax    2  drachms. 

Spermaceti 2  drachms. 

Oil  of  bitter  almonds 20  drops. 

Oil  of  bergamot  40  drops. 

Alcohol     6  ounces. 

Water   (a  sufficient  quantity). 

Mix.  The  almonds  should  be  beaten  in  a  smooth  mortar,  and  the  water 
gradually  added  in  small  quantities,  the  beating  in  the  mortar  being  continued 
until  a  smooth  paste  is  obtained.  Add  gradually  to  this  paste  one  pint  of 
water,  stirring  well  all  the  time.  The  emulsion  thus  made  should  be  strained 
without  pressure  through  clean  cotton  cloth.  Add  through  the  strainer  enougli 
water  to  bring  the  amount  of  the  liquid  to  one  pint.  The  soap,  shaved  into 
thin  slices,  should  be  at  the  same  time,  with  enough  water  to  cover  it,  melted 
directly  over  a  very  gentle  fire  or  in  a  water-bath.  When  liquid,  the  wax  and 
spermaceti  should  be  added  to  it  in  large  pieces,  in  order  to  have  them  melt 
slowly  and  thereby  become  better  incorporated  with  the  soap,  and  the  mixture 
should  be  stirred  occasionally.  This  soapy  mixture  being  put  into  the  mortar, 
the  emulsion  should  be  slowly  poured  into  it,  while  the  pestle  is  kept  in 
movement  constantly  to  secure  perfect  blending  of  the  whole  liquid.  Lastly, 
add  the  alcohol,  in  which  the  perfumes  have  been  previously  dissolved. 


454  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

MILK  OF  CUCUMBER. 

Sweet  almonds 4      ounces. 

Cucumber  juice   14       ounces. 

Alcohol   (ninety-five  degrees)    8       ounces. 

Essence  of  cucumber 3%  ounces. 

Green  oil   2       drachms. 

Wax  2       drachms. 

Curd  soap 2       drachms. 

Mix. 

MAGNOLIA-BALM. 

Florida-water   1  ounce. 

Alcohol    1  ounce. 

Rose-water    2  ounces. 

Glycerine     %  ounce. 

Prepared  chalk    2  ounces. 

Oxide  of  zinc   1  ounce. 

Water    2  ounces. 

Mix.     Tint  with  carmine,  if  desired.     A  very  good  toilet  water. 

NAIL   AND   LIP   POMADE    (ROSALINE). 
( Pharmaceu  tica  I  Era. ) 

Eosin    10  parts. 

Spermaceti    30  parts. 

White  wax   30  parts. 

Vaseline    410  parts. 

Mix.     For  communicating  a  rose-tint  to  the  nails  and  lips. 

MOUTH-WASH    (DISINFECTANT). 

Thymol    3  grains. 

Benzoic  acid   40  grains. 

Tincture  of  eucalyptus 3  drachms. 

Essence  of  peppermint 10  drops. 

Alcohol    3  ounces. 

Mix.     Pour  enough  into  a  glassful  of  water  to  make  it  turbid. 

MOUTH-WASH    (HORSE-RADISH). 

Horse-radish  root  (ground) 1  ounce. 

Boiling  water 1  pint. 

Tincture  of  rhatany  2  drachms. 

Mix. 

MOUTH-WASH    (HONEY). 

Gum  myrrh    2       drachms. 

Gum-Arabic    1       drachm. 

Alcohol    %  drachm. 

Water    7^  drachms. 

Mix. 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS.  455 

MOUTH-WASH    (MENTHOLINE) . 

Menthol     40       grains. 

Oil  of  cloves  1%  drachms. 

Oil  of  peppermint  1%  drachms. 

Boric  acid  9       drachms. 

Tincture  of  myrrh 4%  ounces. 

Tincture  of  cudbear 2       ounces. 

Alcohol  enough  to  make,  all  told 36       ounces. 

Mix.  Dissolve  the  menthol  and  the  boric  acid  in  twenty  ounces  of  alco- 
hol, add  the  oils  and  the  tinctures,  filter,  and  add  enough  alcohol  to  make  the 
thirty-six  ounces. 

MOUTH-WASH    (COSMOS). 

Saccharin    37%  grains. 

Benzoic  acid 45       grains. 

Tincture  of  krameria   %  ounce. 

Absolute  alcohol    25       drachms. 

Oil  of  peppermint  15       drops. 

Oil  of  cinnamon   15       drops. 

Mix.  Add  three  parts  of  the  mixture  to  twenty-seven  parts  of  a  4-per- 
cent, solution  of  peroxide  of  hydrogen. 

MOUTH-WASH    ( VIOLET). 

Tincture  of  violet-root   7  ounces. 

Spirit  of  rose 7  ounces. 

Alcohol    7  ounces. 

Oil  of  bitter  almonds 5  drops. 

Mix.    Use  a  teaspoonful  in  a  glassful  of  warm  water. 

MOUTH-WASH. 

Permanganate  of  potash   5  grains. 

Distilled  water    1  ounce. 

Mix. 

MOUTH-WASH. 

Infusion  of  sage   8  ounces. 

Pure  glycerine   1  ounce. 

Tincture  of  myrrh   3  drachms. 

Solution  of  chlorate  of  soda 1  ounce. 

Mix. 

MOUTH-WASH. 

Salol    8  grains. 

Alcohol    8  grains. 

Tincture  of  cinnamon    00  drops. 

Oil  of  mint  -  •  •  •     4  dr°Ps- 

Mix.    This  can  also  be  used  for  a  dentifrice  and  for  receding  guma. 


45^  HEALTH   AND   BEAUTY. 

MOUTH-WASH. 

Saccharin    15  grains. 

Bicarbonate  of  sodium 15  grains. 

Salicylic  acid  1  drachm. 

Alcohol    6  ounces. 

Mix.     A  few  drops  of  the  mixture  are  used  in  a  glassful  of  water  as  a 
gargle. 

MOUTH-WASH. 

Bromo-chloral    20  to  30  drops. 

Syrup    1  teaspoonful. 

Mix.     This  preparation  is  recommended  as  excellent  for  removing  the 
odor  of  smoking  from  the  breath. 

MOUTH-WASH     (DISINFECTANT). 

Benzoic  acid   1  drachm. 

Tincture  of  eucalyptus   5  drachms. 

Absolute  alcohol   4  ounces. 

Oil  of  peppermint 10  drops. 

Mix. 


Perfumed  powders  are  useful  and  agreeable.  They  neu- 
tralize excessive  moisture  of  the  skin,  whether  derived  from 
superabundance  on  it  of  perspiration  or  of  oil. 


PERFUMED   POWDER. 

Powdered  Florentine  orris-root  4      ounces. 

Powdered  talc    12       ounces. 

English  precipitated  chalk   4       pounds. 

Powdered  boric  acid  2%  ounces. 

Extract  of  cassia    %  ounce. 

Extract  of  jasmine  %  ounce. 

Extract  of  white  rose 2       drachms. 

Mix  thoroughly  and  sift  through  fine  bolting-cloth. 


PERFUMED    POWDER. 

Subnitrate  of  bismuth   1  ounce. 

Heavy  carbonate  of  magnesia '. 1  ounce. 

Starch  powder  4  ounces. 

French  chalk   2  ounces. 

Otto  of  roses 16  drops. 

Mix. 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS.  457 

VIOLET-POWDER. 

Cornstarch 12      pounds. 

Powdered  orris-root   2       pounds. 

Oil  of  citron %  ounce 

Oil  of  bergamot  2y2  drachms. 

Oil  of  cloves  2      drachms. 

Mix. 

ROSE-POWDER. 

Finest  rice-flour 14  pounds. 

Oil  of  rose   5  drachms. 

Oil  of  sandal-wood    5  drachms. 

Mix.  If  a  pink  color  be  desired,  it  can  be  obtained  by  the  addition  of 
one  and  a  quarter  drachms  of  the  best  carmine. 

PEARL   POWDER. 

Venetian  cnalk 2  pounds. 

Subnitrate  of  bismuth    2  ounces. 

Oxide  of  zinc   2  ounces. 

Mix. 

Inasmuch  as  this  powder  contains  metallic  substances  it 
must  be  used  with  caution,  as  it  is  capable  of  causing  a  brownish 
discoloration  of  the  skin. 

FACE-POWDER    ( WHITE  ROSE). 

Oxide  of  zinc 7  ounces. 

Powdered  talc    9  ounces. 

Carbonate  of  magnesia   1  ounce. 

Triple  extract  of  jasmine 25  drops. 

Triple  extract  of  white-rose  10  drops. 

Mix  thoroughly  and  pass  through  fine  bolting-cloth. 

FACE-POWDER   (RED  ROSE). 

Oxide  of  zinc  7  ounces. 

Purified  talc  9  ounces. 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 1  ounce. 

Triple  extract  of  jasmine 25  drops. 

Triple  extract  of  rose 10  drops. 

Solution  of  carmine 17  drops. 

Mix  thoroughly  and  pass  through  fine  bolting-cloth. 

FACE-POWDER    (CUBAN    BELLE). 

White-rose  face-powder    4  ounces. 

Red-rose  face-powder    4  ounces. 

Oxford  ochre    4  drachms. 

Mix  thoroughly  and  pass  through  fine  bolting-cloth.     For  brunette  com- 
plexion. 


HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

FACE-POWDER    (  FLEUR-DE-LYS  ) . 

Bismuth   subnitrate    %  drachm. 

Purified  talc  1  %  ounces. 

Wheat-starch    2       ounces. 

Gypsum  3       ounces. 

Triple  extract  of  fleur-de-lys 1       drachm. 

Mix  thoroughly  and  pass  through  fine  bolting-cloth. 

FACE-POWDER    (NILE-LILY). 

Bismuth  subcarbonate    2       drachms. 

Oxide  of  zinc   2       ounces. 

Purified  talc  21/a  ounces. 

Precipitated  chalk 2%  ounces. 

Wheat-starch    3%  ounces. 

Oil  of  geranium 20       drops. 

Mix  thoroughly  and  pass  through  fine  bolting-cloth. 

FACE-POWDER    (RICE). 

Finely  powdered  rice   3%  ounces. 

Powdered  orris-root    1       ounce. 

Oil  of  rose-geranium    10       drops. 

Mix  thoroughly  and  pass  through  fine  bolting-cloth. 

WHITE   COMPLEXION    POWDER. 

Powdered  rice    1  ounce. 

Powdered  talcum    1  ounce. 

Powdered  carbonate  of  magnesia 1  drachm. 

Ext.  rose 3  drops. 

Mix. 

PINK    COMPLEXION    POWDER. 

Powdered  starch   1  ounce. 

Powdered  carbonate  of  zinc 4  drachms. 

Powdered  carbonate  of  magnesia 1  drachm. 

Carmine,  sufficient  quantity  to  color  pink. 

Mix.    Starch,  rice,  and  zinc,  or  magnesia  alone,  colored  pink,  make  good 
and  useful  complexion  dusting  powders. 

FACE-POWDER    (SWANSDOWN). 

Oxide  of  zinc   8       ounces. 

Powdered  orris-root   2%  ounces. 

Purified  talc  10       ounces. 

Extract  of  musk  12       drops. 

Extract  of  jasmine  40       drops. 

Extract  of  white-rose  40       drops. 

Extract  of  cassia 40      drops. 

Mix  thoroughly  and  pass  through  fine  bolting-cloth. 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS.  459 

COMPLEXION    POWDER. 

Corn-starch 5  pounds. 

Precipitated  chalk    3  pounds. 

Powdered  talc   2  pounds. 

Oil  of  neroli  1  drachm. 

Oil  of  citron 1  drachm. 

Oil  of  orange   2  drachma. 

Extract  of  jasmine   1  ounce. 

Mix. 

HAND-POWDER. 
( Christiani. ) 

Powdered  white  Castile  soap 4  ounces. 

Powdered  cuttle-fish  bone   4  ounces. 

Bleached  almonds 8  ounces. 

Powdered  orris-root    2  ounces. 

Oil  of  cloves   y2  drachm. 

Oil  of  lavender 1  drachm. 

Mix.     Use  as  soap-powder. 

WHITENING  SKIN-POWDER. 
( Christiani. ) 

Powdered  marshmallow  root 2  ounces. 

Carbonate  of  soda    2  ounces. 

Barley-meal 12  ounces. 

Mix.     Use  as  soap-powder. 

NAIL-POWDER. 

A  cosmetic  preparation  for  treatment  of  the  finger-nails 
consists  of  finely-powdered  oxide  of  tin,  to  which  may  be  added 
a  little  oil  of  lavender  or  other  agreeable  perfume.  It  may  be 
colored  with  carmine  and  can  be  applied  by  hand  or  with  a  nail- 
polisher. 

The  following  recipes  for  dusting-powders  for  the  skin  of 
infants  have  been  collected  from  various  trustworthy  sources : — 

INFANT-POWDER. 

Purified  talc 8  ounces. 

Powdered  fuller's  earth  4  ounces. 

Lycopodium    4  ounces. 

Oil  of  rose 5  drops. 

Mix.  Rub  the  oil  of  rose  into  the  fuller  s  earth  in  a  mortar  until  they 
are  thoroughly  incorporated  with  each  other.  Then  add  the  talc  and  lycopo- 
dium,  mixing  thoroughly.  Pass  through  fine  bolting-cloth. 


460 


HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 


INFANT-POWDER. 

Powdered  French  chalk  .......................  14      ounces. 

Powdered  boric  acid  ..........................  2       ounces. 

Extract  of  jasmine   ...........................  1%  drachms. 

Extract  of  musk   .............................  %  drachm. 

Mix.     Pass  through  fine  bolting-cloth. 

INFANT-POWDER. 

Gum  camphor    ...............................  %  ounce. 

Carbolic  acid    ................................  15       drops. 

Oxide  of  zinc   ................................  %  ounce. 

English  precipitated  chalk    ....................  2       ounces. 

Oil  of  rose  ...................................  2       drops. 

Mix.  Rub  the  camphor  to  a  fine  powder  in  a  mortar.  Use  alcohol  to 
reduce  it  to  liquid  form,  and  mix  the  other  components  thoroughly.  Pass 
through  fine  bolting-cloth. 

INFANT-POWDER. 

Kaolin    ......................................  1  pound. 

Powdered  orris-root    ..........................  4  ounces. 

Oil  of  sandal-wood   ...........................  40  drops. 

Mix.     Pass  through  fine  bolting-cloh. 

INFANT-POWDER. 

Carbolic  acid    ..........  ......................  50       drops. 

Boric  acid  ...................................  1%  ounces. 

Powdered  French  chalk   .......................  14%  ounces. 

Mix  thoroughly  the  French  chalk,  with  the  carbolic  acid  gradually  added. 

Then  add  the  boric  acid,  and  thoroughly  mix  all  together.  Pass  through  fine 
bolting-cloth. 

INFANT-POWDER. 

Oxide  of  zinc   ................................  %  ounce. 

Powdered  starch    ..............................    1  %  ounces. 

Boric  acid   ...................................  20       grains. 

Oil  of  eucalyptus  .............................  10       drops. 

Mix. 

INFANT-POWDER. 

Powdered  fuller's  earth   .......................  9       ounces. 

Powdered  boric  acid   ..........................  1%  ounces. 

Powdered  oxide  of  zinc  ........................  3       ounces. 

Powdered  starch    .............................  9       ounces. 

Powdered  orris-root    ..........................  1%  ounces. 

Oil  of  bergamot  ..............................  2       drachms. 

Mix  the  powders  thoroughly  together  and  pass  the  mixture  through  fine 
bolting-cloth. 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS.  461 

"The  Druggist's  Circular  and  Chemical  Gazette"  gives  the 
following  formulae  for  talc  powders: — 

PERFUMED  TALC. 

Powdered  talc    1  pound. 

Extract  of  jasmine  %  ounce. 

Extract  of  musk   %  ounce. 

Oil  of  rose   8  drops 

Mix. 

BORATED  TALC. 

Powdered  talc    1  pound. 

Powdered  boric  acid  1  pound. 

Mix.  This  powder  is  beneficially  used  for  healing  reddened  and  cracked 
skin. 

TANNATED    TALC. 

Powdered  talc .  5  pounds. 

Tannic  acid 4  ounces. 

Mix.  Tannated  talc  is  a  serviceable  application  for  excoriated  and  sup- 
purating surfaces. 

SALICYLATED  TALC. 

Powdered  talc    5  pounds. 

Salicylic  acid   3  ounces. 

Mix.  This  preparation  is  of  value  for  preventing  and  curing  offensive 
perspiration. 

CARBOLATED    TALC. 

Powdered  talc    1  pound. 

Carbolic  acid   *4  ounce. 

Mix.  Carbolated  talc  is  a  good  antiseptic  preparation.  With  the  use  of 
the  same  proportions  as  for  carbolated  talc,  mentholated  and  thymolated  talc 
may  be  prepared. 

AROMATIC    VINEGAR. 

Glacial  acetic  acid 8  ounces. 

Oil  of  lavender   2  drachms. 

Oil  of  rosemary 1  drachm. 

Oil  of  cloves    1  drachm. 

Camphor  1  ounce. 

Mix.  The  powdered  camphor  is  first  dissolved  in  the  acetic  acid,  the 
essential  oils  are  then  added;  the  mixture  is  set  aside  for  several  days,  but 
frequently  shaken,  and  finally  it  is  filtered. 


462  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

HYGIENIC   VINEGAR. 

Tincture  of  benzoin 1  pint. 

Oil  of  cloves  1  drachm. 

Oil  of  lavender    1  drachm. 

Oil  of  marjoram  Vz  drachm. 

Mix  and  add  acetic  acid  ( thirty  degrees ) y2  pint. 

Mix.     Shake  well.     Let  stand  for  several  days,  then  filter. 

COSMETIC   VINEGAR. 

Tincture  of  benzoin   2       pints. 

Aromatic  vinegar   3       ounces. 

Peruvian  balsam  1       ounce. 

Oil  of  nutmeg %  drachm. 

Oil  of  neroli  1*4  drachms. 

Mix. 

COLOGNE-VINEGAR. 

Cologne    6^  ounces. 

Glacial  acetic  acid   2      drachms. 

Mix. 

TOILET  VINEGAR. 
( Pharmaceutical  Era. ) 

Essence  of  bergamot    20  minims. 

Essence  of  ambergris 4  drachms. 

Essence  of  vanilla    30  minims. 

Oil   of   neroli 30  minims. 

Strong  acetic   acid    160  minims. 

Alcohol   (eighty-four  degrees)    6  ounces. 

Mix. 

DE  BULLY'S  VINAIGRE-AROMATIQUE. 

Oil  of  lemon    1       ounce. 

Oil  of  lavender  (English )    %  ounce. 

Oil  of  rosemary-flower   %  ounce. 

Oil  of  cloves   yt  ounce. 

Gum  camphor    1       ounce. 

Tincture  of  benzoin    2       ounces. 

Tincture  of  orris-root     2       ounces. 

Tincture  of  storax 1       ounce. 

Tincture  of  Tonquin-bean    1       ounce. 

Tincture  of  musk   1       ounce. 

Alcohol   (ninety-five  degrees) 41/4  pints. 

Acetic  acid   1       pint. 

Triple  rose-water 1%  pints. 

Mix.     Dissolve  the  oils  and  camphor  in  the  alcohol,  add  the  tinctures, 

then  the  acid,  lastly  the  rose-water.    Let  stand  a  fortnight  before  filtering. 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS.  463 

WIG-PASTE. 
(Christiani.) 

Isinglass    1  ounce. 

Rose-water    8  ounces. 

Tincture  of  benzoin     2  ounces. 

White  turpentine    2  ounces. 

Alcohol    4  ounces. 

Mix.     The  isinglass  is  dissolved  in  the  rose-water;  the  turpentine,  the 
tincture,  and  the  two  solutions  are  then  mixed. 

The  appended  combinations  are  serviceable  for  the  diseases 
and  disorders  named. 

BALDNESS. 
Ointment  of  oleate  of  mercury  ( 10  to  20  per  cent. )    1  ounce. 

Ol.  eucalyptus   1  drachm. 

Mix.     Directions:     Rub  into  the  bald  spots  once  or  twice  a  day. 

BOILS. 

Chloral  hydrate 10  grains. 

Camphor   10  grains. 

Phenolis   (carbolic  acid)   10  drops. 

Sublimed  sulphur */%  drachm. 

Subacetate  of  lead  ointment %  ounce. 

Benzoated  zinc  ointment   V£  ounce. 

Mix.    Apply  with  old  muslin  or  lint  to  the  boil.    Change  dressing  two  or 
three  times  a  day. 

BURNS. 

Salol    1  part. 

Olive  oil    70  parts. 

Lime-water   70  parts. 

Mix. 

BURNS. 

Cocaine  hydrochlorate   3  grains. 

Beechwood  creosote    5  drops. 

Lime  water    3  ounces. 

Distilled  witch-hazel  water 3  ounces. 

Mix.    Directions:     Mop  over  the  surface  or  apply  with  old  muslin. 

BURNS. 

Powdered  bicarbonate  of  soda %  ounce. 

Subnitrate  of  bismuth   %  ounce. 

Beechwood   creosote    5  drops. 

Mix.     Directions:     Dust  frequently  over  the  burn. 


464  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

CARBUNCLE. 

Compound  resin-ointment  1  ounce. 

Powdered  opium   2  grains. 

Powdered  camphor   5  grains. 

Mix.     Directions:     Apply  on  lint  or  old  muslin  to  the  carbuncle. 

CHAPPED  LIPS. 

Solution  of  borogl  yceride  ( 50  per  cent. )    3  drachms. 

Lanolin    4  drachms. 

Rose-ointment    4  drachms.     A 

Mix. 

CRACKS   OR    FISSURES   OF   HANDS,    FEET,    AND    LIPS 

Prepared  suet    1  ounce. 

Rose  ointment   1  ounce. 

Salicylic  acid   30  grains. 

Sublimed  sulphur   30  grains. 

Mix.  The  suet  can  be  prepared  as  follows:  Melt  the  fresh  suet  over 
a  slow  fire,  add  while  the  suet  is  fluid  from  10  to  30  grains  of  gum  camphor 
to  the  ounce  of  suet.  After  the  camphor  and  suet  have  been  thoroughly  mixed, 
remove  from  fire  and  beat  up  the  whole  well,  and  after  cool  incorporate  with 
the  above  combination. 

CHAPPED    HANDS. 

Tannic   acid    8  grains. 

Glycerine    5  drachms. 

Rose-water      6  ounces. 

Mix.  This  prescription  is  given  by  Monsieur  Vigier,  a  French  physician, 
in  Le  Journal  de  Medicine. 

CHAPPED  HANDS. 

Lanolin    3  to  6  ounces. 

Vanilla   1  y2  grains. 

Paraffin    3  to  6  drachms. 

Essence  of  rose   1  drop. 

Mix. 

CHAPPED    HANDS. 

Green  soap   !/4  ounce. 

Tincture  of  benzoin .  2  ounces. 

Glycerine    4  ounces. 

Rose-water    8  ounces. 

Mix. 

CHAPPED   AND   INFLAMED    HANDS. 

Salol    1  drachm. 

Menthol %  drachm. 

Olive  oil    1  drachm. 

Lanolin    30  drachms. 

Mix.     Apply  two  or  three  times  a  day. 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS.  465 

Salol,  an  ingredient  in  the  above  application,  is  a  combina- 
tion of  carbolic  acid  and  salicylic  acid.  By  virtue  of  its  antisep- 
tic properties,  it  allays  inflammation.  Menthol,  also  an  ingre- 
dient of  the  above  application,  is  a  constituent  of  peppermint- 
oil,  and  allays  pain  and  itching.  The  same  ingredients  also  enter 
into  the  following  preparation  : — 

CHAPPED    HANDS. 

Menthol %  drachm. 

Quince-seed   %  ounce. 

Glycerine   1  ounce. 

Alcohol    4  ounces. 

Water,  a  sufficient  quantity  to  make  a  mucilage . . 

The  quince-seed  is  soaked  in  a  pint  of  water  for  twenty-four  hours,  fre- 
quently stirred,  and  then  strained  with  gentle  pressure  through  muslin,  and 
the  full  volume  with  water  made  up  to  one  pint.  The  glycerine  is  then  added, 
and  finally  the  alcohol  and  menthol ;  the  whole  being  then  briskly  stirred. 

CHAPPED  AND   INFLAMED   SKIN. 

Salol    40  grains. 

Menthol  10  grains. 

Olive  oil    1  drachm. 

Lanolin    %  ounce. 

Cold  cream  %  ounce. 

Mix. 

CORNS  AND  BUNIONS. 

Salicylic   acid    1  drachm. 

Flexible  collodion   1  ounce. 

Mix  and  put  a  camel's  hair  brush  through  the  cork  of  the  bottle.  Direc- 
tions: Paint  over  the  corn  or  bunion  every  day  or  two. 

Salicylic  acid  plaster  can  be  used  in  place  of  the  above  combination  upon 
corns,  bunions,  or  a  thickened  state  of  the  skin  with  great  benefit. 

DANDRUFF. 

Tincture  of  capsicum %  ounce. 

Tincture  of  nux  vomica %  ounce. 

Spirits  rosemary  t  •  •  •     3  ounces. 

Distilled  witch-hazel  water 2  ounces. 

Mix.     Directions:     Rub  in  well  with  a  sponge  every  night  on  retiring. 

DRY   SKIN. 

Glycerine    2  ounces. 

Lime  water 2  ounces. 

Distilled  witch-hazel  water 2  ounces. 

Mix.    Apply  with  cotton  once  or  twice  a  day. 

30 


466  HEALTH    AND    BEAUTY. 

FALLING  OF  HAIR. 

Corrosive  sublimate   10  grains. 

Chloride  of  ammonia   2  drachms. 

Water  of  eucalyptus    6  ounces. 

Mix.  Directions:  Rub  into  the  scalp  at  night  on  retiring  by  means  of 
a  small  sponge  or  piece  of  cotton. 

FRECKLES. 

Horse-radish   root    1  ounce. 

Boiling  water 1  pint. 

Borax     2  drachms. 

Mix.    This  lotion  is  serviceable  for  removing  freckles,  tan,  etc. 

FRECKLES  OR  LIVER  SPOTS. 

Chloride   of   ammonia 1  drachm. 

Corrosive  sublimate    10  grains. 

Distilled  witch-hazel   water 3  ounces. 

Rose-water    3  ounces. 

Mix.     Directions:     Apply  with  sponge  once  or  twice  a  day. 

FRECKLES,    BLACKHEADS,    TAN,    ETC. 

Solution  of  ammonia   2  ounces. 

Bay  rum   2  ounces. 

Rose-water 2  ounces. 

Powdered  borax  2  ounces. 

Glycerine     1  ounce. 

Distilled   water    20  ounces. 

Mix. 

FRECKLES  AND  TAN. 

Rose-water 6       ounces. 

Glycerine     %  ounce. 

Bitter  almond  water 2%  drachms. 

Tincture  of  benzoin    2^  drachms. 

Borax    1%  drachms. 

Mix.  This  is  Dr.  Chevasse's  preparation  for  tan,  freckles,  pimples,  etc. 
Rub  the  borax  up  with  the  glycerine,  gradually  adding  the  rose  and  almond 
waters,  lastly  the  tincture  of  benzoin,  agitating  the  mixture  all  the  time. 
Apply  night  and  morning. 

FROSTBITE. 

Camphor     10  grains. 

Chloral   hydrate    20  grains. 

Phenol    (carbolic  acid)    20  drops. 

Atropine   sulphate    3  grains. 

Morphine  sulphate   3  grains. 

Cocaine  hydrochlorate   5  grains. 

Alcohol    2  ounces. 

Mix.  Directions:  Apply  frequently  to  the  frost-bite  by  means  of  cotton 
or  a  camel's  hair  brush. 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS.  467 

FROSTBITE. 

Compound  tincture  of  benzoin 2  ounces. 

Phenol    (carbolic  acid)    %  drachm. 

Mix.     Directions:     Paint  over  the  frost-bite  once  or  twice  a  day. 

ITCHING  OF  THE  SKIN. 

Beechwood  creosote    10  drops. 

Glycerine     3  ounces. 

Rose  water   3  ounces. 

Mix.    Directions:     Mop  frequently  over  the  skin. 

ITCHING  PILES  OR  HEMORRHOIDS. 

Sublimed  sulphur   *£  drachm. 

Cocaine  hydrochlorate   5  grains. 

Atropine   sulphate    3  grains. 

Camphor   10  grains. 

Chloral  hydrate 10  grains. 

Tannic  acid    20  grains. 

Benzoated  zinc  ointment 1  ounce. 

Mix.  Directions:  Apply  to  the  piles  once  or  twice  a  day  after  bathing 
the  parts  well  with  hot  distilled  witchhazel  water. 

The  internal  use  of  2  to  4  grains  of  precipitated  sulphur,  three  to  four 
times  a  day,  will  assist  in  relieving  all  pain. 

MOSQUITO-POWDER. 

Eucalyptol    5  parts. 

Talc    10  parts. 

Corn-starch    85  parts. 

Mix.  This  preparation  may  be  rendered  even  more  effective  by  substi- 
tuting 50  per  cent,  or  more  of  the  corn-starch  by  naptholine. 

OILY  OR   GREASY  SKIN,   ESPECIALLY  OF   THE    FACE. 

Boric   acid    %  drachm. 

Alcohol    %  ounce. 

Rose-water    5%  ounces. 

Mix.  Directions:  Mop  off  the  surface  night  and  morning  with  this 
solution,  after  which  dust  over  the  face  rice  or  complexion  powder. 

ODOROUS  OR  STINKING  SWEAT,  ESPECIALLY  OF  HANDS,   FEET, 
ARMPITS  AND  OTHER  PARTS  OF  THE  BODY. 

Powdered  boric  acid %  ounce. 

Powdered  alum   %  ounce. 

Oil  of  eucalyptus 20  drops. 

Subnitrate   of   bismuth 1  ounce. 

Oil  of  rose   3  drops. 

Oil  of  verbena  5  drops. 

Mix.  Directions :  The  surface  should  first  be  washed  with  pure  "hydro- 
gen dioxide  or  peroxide  of  hydrogen,  and  the  powder  afterward  dusted  well 
upon  the  parts. 


468  HEALTH    AND   BEAUTY. 

PIMPLES,  BLOTCHES,  TETTER,  AND  IRRITATION 
OF  THE  SKIN. 

Sulphocarbolate  of  zinc  20  grains. 

Oxide  of  zinc   2  drachms. 

Precipitated  sulphur 1  drachm. 

Cologne    6  drachms. 

Glycerine  6  drachms. 

Carmine   2  grains. 

Rose-water,  enougli  to  make,  all  told 6  ounces. 

Mix. 

PIMPLES    ON    THE    FACE. 

Phenolis  (carbolic  acid) 10  drops. 

Salicylic  acid   20  grains. 

Gum  camphor    10  grains. 

Benzoated  zinc  ointment  1  ounce. 

Mix.     Directions:     Apply  at  bed  time. 

PROTECTION   AGAINST   INSECT   BITES. 
(Western  Druggist.) 

Acetic  ether   5  parts. 

Eucalyptol    10  parts. 

Cologne    40  parts. 

Tincture  of  pyrethrum  50  parts. 

Mix.     Dilute  with  from  three  to  six  parts  of  water  before  applying  to 
the  skin. 

REDNESS    OF    SKIN,    SUNBURN,    CHAFING. 

Powdered  carbonate  of  zinc 4  drachms. 

Powdered  carbonate  of  magnesia %  drachm. 

Lime  water    4  ounces. 

Glycerine     1  ounce. 

Distilled  witch-hazel  water    1  ounce. 

Mix.    Directions:     Mop  frequently  over  the  surface. 

RED    NOSE   AND    CHEEKS. 

Hydrastine  hydrochlorate    (colorless) 5  grains. 

Oil  of  chamomile    5  drops. 

Oil  of  eucalyptus    5  drops. 

Benzoated   zinc   ointment 1  ounce. 

Mix.    Directions:     Apply  to  the  surface  once  or  twice  a  day. 

SORES  OR  ULCERS  OF  THE  SKIN. 

Powdered  red  cinchona  bark 1  ounce. 

Subnitrate  of  bismuth    1  ounce. 

Mix.    Directions:     Wash  off  the  surface  with  hydrogen  dioxide  and  then 
dust  on  the  powder  once  or  twice  a  day. 


COSMETIC    PREPARATIONS.  469 

STINGS   OF   INSECTS. 

Powdered  ipecacuanha  i£  ounce. 

Alcohol    y2  ounce! 

Sulphuric  ether %  ounce> 

Mix. 

STYE  LOTION. 

Camphor-water   1  ounce. 

Muriate  of  morphine   2  grains 

Mix. 

SUNBURN. 

Citric  acid 2  drachms. 

Crystallized  sulphate  of  iron   18  grains. 

Camphor    2  grains. 

Elderflower-water    3  ounces. 

Mix. 

SWEATING  OF  HANDS,  FEET,  AND  OTHER  PARTS  OF  THE  BODY. 

Salicylic   acid    2  drachms. 

Subnitrate  of  bismuth   1  ounce. 

Powdered  talcum    2  ounces. 

Mix.    Dust  well  and  frequently  over  the  parts. 

TETTER. 

Carbonate  of  potash  1  part. 

Olive  oil    10  parts. 

Oxide  of  zinc   15  parts. 

Starch    15  parts. 

Salol    5  parts. 

Sulphur    6  parts. 

Lanolin    100  parts. 

Mix.     The  preceding  is  Dr.  Saalfeld's  prescription. 

WARTS   AND    CORNS. 
(British  and  Colonial  Druggist.) 

Strong  acetic  acid  > 1  drachm. 

Tincture  of  iodine 1  drachm. 

Mucilage   2  drachms. 

Mix. 

WAX   IN   THE  EAR. 

Solution  of  boroglyceride   (50  per  cent.) 1  ounce. 

Glycerine     1  ounce. 

Cocaine  hydrochlorate   %  grain. 

Mix.     Directions:     Warm  the  mixture  in  a  teaspoon  over  the  flame 
of  a  lamp,  and  pour  a  few  drops  in  the  ear  several  times  a  day. 


INDEX. 


Abernethy,  198. 
Acacius,  62. 
Actium,  60. 
Albinism,  330. 
Anaemia,  280. 
Anne,  Queen,  226. 
Antony,  Mark,  60. 
Arc,  Joan  of,  213. 
Atmosphere,  238,  267. 
weight  of,  262. 

Baker,  Sir  Samuel,  41. 
Baldness,  386,  463. 

acute,  392. 

cause  of,  386. 

chronic,  392. 

circumscribed,  399. 

treatment  of,  387,  393. 
Banting,  Mr.,  54. 
Bath,  91. 

cold,  92. 

douche,  no. 

effect,  medically  of,  108. 

general,  95. 

in   deranged   perspiratory   func- 
tion, 1 08. 

in  diseases  of  skin,  108. 

in  excessive  perspiration,  108. 

Russian,   103. 

sea,  98. 

shower,  96. 

time  of,  98. 

warm,  92,  108. 
Beaumont,  Dr.,  121. 
Beauty,  elements  of,  40. 
Biliousness,  280. 


Bites  and  stings,  336,  468. 

Blackheads,  298,  466. 

Blackmore,  205. 

Blisters,  286,  325. 

Boils,  312,  463. 

Bois-Gilbert,  Sir  Brian  de,  150. 

Bronte,  Charlotte,  215. 

Brown    Dr.  John,  203. 

Browning,  147. 

Browning,  Elizabeth  Barrett,  215. 

Budd,  Dr.,  284. 

Bunions,  465. 

Burns  and  scalds,  306,  463. 

Caesar,  Augustus,  60. 

Caesar,  Caius  Julius,  60. 

Calcutta,  275. 

Camphor  ice,  420. 

Caracalla,  Antonius,  102. 

Carbuncle,  314,  464. 

Carlyle,  139,  205. 

Carpenter,  Dr.,  22. 

Castro,  Juan  de,  384. 

Catarrh,  chronic  bronchial,  250. 

Caucasian,  6. 

Chapped  hands,  464,  465. 

Charcot,  Professor,  289. 

Chatterton,  Thomas,  191. 

Chicken-pox,  378. 

Chilblains,  308. 

Chlorosis,  280. 

Chin,  47. 

Churchill,  John,  60. 

Clarke,  Sir  Andrew,  284. 

Clarke,  Dr.  Joseph,  276. 

Cleopatra,  59. 

471 


472 


INDEX. 


Climate,  243. 

effect  on  diseases,  249. 

effect  on  temperature,  257. 

effect  of  forests  on,  265. 

effect  of  soil  on,  266. 

of  islands,  246. 

of  mainland,  248. 

of  seashore,  246. 
Clothing,  character  of,  227. 

purpose  of,  221. 

style  of,  222. 

substance  of,  228. 
Cold  cream,  418. 
Coleridge,  76,  82. 
Cologne,  423,  436. 
Complexion,  31,  279. 

effect  of  climate  on,  32,  245. 

effect  of  blood  on,  31. 

effect  of  nerves  on,  35. 
Cooper,  Sir  Astley,  198. 
Corns,  465,  469. 
Cosmetics,  417. 

cold  cream,  418. 

eye-lid  paste,  447. 

hair-lotion,  450. 

infant-powder,  459. 

mouth-wash,  454. 

nail-powder,  459. 

ointments,  418. 

perfumes,  423. 

skin-lotions,  451. 

toilet-preparations,  440. 

usefulness  of,  417. 
Coxwell,  262. 
Curie,  Madame,  216. 
Currie,  Dr.  James,  19. 

Dandruff,  295,  465. 

Dante,   85. 

Darwin,  Dr.  Erasmus,  23. 


Dickens,    Charles,    150,    171,    205, 

274. 
Digestion  and  indigestion,  44. 

aids  to,  117. 
Diocletian,  102. 

Diseases,  disfigurement  from,  and 
treatment  of,  279. 

albinism,  330. 

barbers'  itch,  322. 

black-heads,  298. 

boils,  312. 

burns  and  scalds,  306. 

cancer,  338. 

carbuncle,  314. 

chilblains,  308. 

contagious,  278. 

corns,  332. 

dandruff,  295,  465. 

diffuse  inflammatory,  288. 

diphtheria,  352. 

dropsy,  289,  354. 

eczema,  301. 

erysipelas,  328. 

fish-skin,  290. 

freckles,  340. 

gangrene,  291. 

glossy  skin,  287. 

green  sickness,  280. 

hardening  of  skin,  290. 

herpes,  326. 

horns,  333. 

itch,  319,  336. 

ivy-poisoning,  318. 

jaundice,  281,  318. 

liver-spots,  292. 

lousiness,  320. 

mothers'  marks,  331. 

nervous  affections  of  skin,  324. 

nettle-rash,  315. 

neuralgia  of  the  skin,  324. 

pallor,  280. 


INDEX. 


473 


Diseases  (continued). 
parasites,  319. 
pemphigus,  287. 
perspiration,  341. 
pigmentation,  333. 
prickly  heat,  317. 
psoriasis,  288. 
purpura,  289. 
redness  of  skin,  287,  306. 
ringworms,  321. 
scars,  335. 
scrofula,  291. 
seborrhoea,  296. 
sycosis,  324. 
tetter,  301. 
tinea  versicolor,  294. 
ulcers,  310. 
wens,  341. 

wrinkles,  premature,  345. 
Drexel,  Anthony  J.,  195. 

Ears,  46. 
Eating,  119. 
Eczema,  301. 

of  infants,  305. 
Eliot,  George,  32,  73,  168,  241. 
Elizabeth,  Queen,  214,  224. 
Emulsion,  446. 
Erysipelas,  328. 
Essence,  426,  427,  428. 
Evans,  Marian,  216. 
Expression,  48,  68. 
Extracts,  423. 
Eyelid-paste,  447. 

Face-powder,  457. 
Faraday,  Michael,  199. 
Fevers,  eruptive,  346. 

chicken-pox,    378. 

German  measles,  366. 

measles,  346. 


scarlet-fever,  350. 

small-pox,  367. 
Fish-skin,  290. 
Ford,  Horace  A.,  167. 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  135,  161,  199. 
Freckles,  340,  466. 
Frederick  the  Great,  62,  199. 
French  Revolution,  226. 
Frost-bite,  467. 

Galen,  5. 

Gangrene,  291. 

George  I,  226. 

Gibbon,  11,  63,  101,  166,  191,  211, 

382. 

Gladstone,  70,  118. 
Glaisher,  James,  262. 
Glossy  skin,  287. 
Goethe,  76,  191. 
Gratiolet,  26. 
Green  sickness,  280. 
Grignan,  Madame  de,  75. 
Gross,  Prof.  Samuel  D.,  198. 
Groups  of  blisters,  325. 

Haemorrhoids,  467. 
Hail,  260. 
Hair,  6,  28,  380. 

atrophy  of,  408. 

color  of,  9. 

effect  of  climate  on,  7. 

effect  of  race  on,  8. 

elasticity  of,  9,  29. 

grayness  of,  451. 

growth  of,  78. 

protection  of,  29. 

roots  of,  6. 

treatment,  391. 
Hamilton,  W.  R.,  191. 
Hand,  chapped,  464. 

powder,  459. 


474 


INDEX. 


Hardening  of  skin,  290. 
Hawthorne,  73. 
Head,  Sir  Francis,  137. 
Health,  243. 
Heart,  182. 
Herpes,  326. 
Homer,  58,  126. 
Homes,  333. 
Houghton,  Lord,  52. 
Howe,  Dr.,  21. 
Humboldt,  137. 

Icelanders,  275. 
Indian,  6. 
Imagination,  202. 
Indigestion,   114. 
Infant-powder,  459. 
Inflammation,  diffuse,  288. 
Itch,  319. 

Itching  of  skin,  336. 
Ivy-poisoning,  318. 

James,  I,  235. 
Jaundice,  281. 
Javelli,  Leon,   179. 
Jenner,  198. 
Justinian,  62,   132. 

Kane,  Dr.,  117. 
Key,  Professor,  159. 
Kitto,  Dr.,  21. 
Klaproth,   190. 
Kneipp  cure,  in. 
Kubisee,  Monsieur,  71. 

Lacroix,  M.,  222. 

Lafayette,  Madame  de,  75. 

Langes,  Monsieur,  71. 

Laplace,  214. 

Lavater,  68,  78. 

Leidy,  Prof.  Joseph,  197. 


Lips,  chapped,  463. 
Liver-spots,  292,  466. 
Livy,  381. 
Lotions,  449. 
Louis  XV,  62,  71. 
Lousiness,  320. 

Macaulay,  52. 
Maclaren,  Dr.,  160. 
Macleod,  13. 
Magitot,  Dr.,  41. 
Marathon,  147. 
Marrel,  L.  H.,  217. 
Martin,  Dr.,  160. 
Massage,   185. 
Mastication,  118. 
Measles,  346. 

German,  366. 

Mitchell,  Dr.  S.  Wier,  198. 
Mosquito-powder,  467. 
Mothers'  marks,  331. 
Mouth,  45. 
Mouth-wash,  454. 
Murchison,  Dr.,  285. 

Nails,  9,  410. 

biting  of,  n. 

care  of,  n. 

color  of,   10. 

diseases  of,  410. 

growth  of,  10. 

treatment  of,  413. 
Nail-powder,  459. 
Napoleon,  61,  151. 
Nephritis,  356. 
Nerves,  n. 

Nervous  affection  of  skin,  324. 
Nettle-rash,  315. 
Neuralgia  of  the  skin,  324. 
Nose,  red,  299. 


INDEX. 


475 


Octavia,  60. 
Ointments,  418. 
Onychia,  411. 
Orange-flower  water,  433. 
Oxygen,  267. 
Ozone,  265. 

Pain,  24. 

Pancoast,  Prof.  Joseph,  198. 

Pancoast,  Prof.  Wm.  H.,  37. 

Pancreatic  juice,   124. 

Parasites,  319. 

Pare,  Ambrose,  385. 

Parkman,  Francis,  25. 

Pascal,  192. 

Pemphigus,  287. 

Pepper,  Prof.  Wm.,  198. 

Perfumes,   423. 

Perfumed  powder,  456. 

Pericles,  59. 

Perspiration,   15. 

colored,  344. 

excessive,  341. 

odorous,  343. 

purpose  of,   17. 

suppressed,  344. 
Petrarch,  85. 

Physick,  Dr.  Philip  Syng,  198. 
Piedmont,  139. 
Pigmentation,  333. 
Pimples,  468. 
Plato,    126. 
Pleurisy,  334. 
Pomatum,  418. 
Pope,  191. 

Potain,  Professor,  284. 
Prickly-heat,  317. 
Psoriasis,  288. 
Purpura,  289. 

Rain,  259. 

Recamier,  Madame,  61. 


Redness  of  skin,  287,  306. 

Red  nose,  299. 

Red  pimples,  289. 

Revolution,  French,  226. 

Rheumatism,  chronic,  252,  354. 

Ring-worm,  321. 

Rousseau,  Jean  Jacques,  151. 

Sachet,  429,  435. 

Saliva,  118. 

Sandow,  178. 

Saunderson,  Professor,  20. 

Savarin,   Brillat,  52. 

Scarlet-fever,   350. 

Schliemann,  Dr.,  58. 

Scott,    Sir   Walter,   76,    150,   206, 

215. 

Seborrhcea,  296. 
Sebum,  18. 
Severus,  166. 
Sevigne,  Madame  de,  75. 
Shakespeare,  60,  70,  100. 
Shingles,  326. 
Skin,  absorbing  power  of,  19. 

appendages  of,  6. 

affected  by  climate,  245. 

blood-vessels  of,  2,  14. 

chapped,  465. 

color  of,  4. 

connective   tissue   of,   I. 

diseases  of,  286. 

dry,  465. 

electric  condition  of,  27. 

glands  of,  i,  3,  15. 

grea'sy,  467. 

itching  of,  26,  336,  467. 

lotion,  451. 

mobility  of,  5. 

neuralgia  of,  324. 

nervous  affection  of,  324. 

odor  of,  27. 


476 


INDEX. 


Skin   (continued). 

redness  of,  287,  306,  468. 

scrofula  of,  249,  291. 

sensibility  of,  19. 

structure  of,  5. 

ulcers  of,  468. 

usefulness  of,  13. 
Small-pox,  367. 
Snow,  261. 
Soaps,  423,  431. 
Somerville,  Mrs.  Mary,  214. 
Spencer,  81. 

Stael,  Madame  de,  61,  215. 
Sting  of  insects,  469. 
Stylites,    St.    Simeon,   26. 
Sullivan,  James  E.,  147. 
Sunbeams,  469. 
Sycosis,  324. 

Symonds,  J.  Addington,  85. 
Sysmonde,  75. 

Talc-powder,  461. 

Tan,  466. 

Teeth,  45. 

Temperature,  effect  of  high,  15. 

effect  of  low,  16. 
Tennyson,  55,  73. 
Tetter,  469. 
Thackeray,   140,  205. 
Theodora,  62. 


Thompson,  284. 

Toilet  preparations,  440. 

Tuke,  Dr.  D.  Hack,  25. 

Ulcers,  308. 

Vaccination,  376. 
Ventilation,  267. 

aids  to,  270. 

purpose  of,  272. 
Villars,  Monsieur  Paul,  70. 
Vinegar,  toilet,  461. 
Virgil,   380. 

Walton,  163. 

Warts,  332,  469. 

Water,  effect  on  climate,  264. 

orange-flower,    432. 
Watts,   Theodore,   211. 
Wens,  341. 
Wilkinson,  381. 
William  III,  225. 
Wilson,  Sir  Erasmus,  7. 
Wind,  287. 
Winship,  Dr.,  179. 
Wordsworth,   55. 

Young,  Dr.  Thomas,  191. 
Yule,  Sir  Henry,  405. 

Zenobia,  211. 


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